About Dr Richard Dackam Ngatchou
Three decades shaping demographic governance and reproductive health policy across Africa
Also Cited As
- Richard Dackam-Ngatchou
- Richard D. Ngatchou
- Richard D-Ngatchou
Dr. Richard Dackam Ngatchou is a Canadian demographer of Cameroonian origin and former United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative who has played a central role in modernizing population and housing censuses and advancing reproductive health policy across Africa. He is a professor of demography, former UNFPA regional adviser, and policy expert in population and development planning.
He earned his PhD in demography from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in 1987. His doctoral thesis on child mortality in Africa examined how maternal education, health systems, and social conditions affect survival before age five. The findings shaped his long-term focus on the links between demographic indicators, inequality, and governance.
Early in his career, he taught at IFORD (Institut de Formation et de Recherche Démographiques, University of Yaoundé), training a new generation of African demographers. As Regional Adviser in Demographic Analysis at UNFPA/CST-Dakar, he supported more than twenty countries in census planning, demographic analysis, and the use of GPS and GIS tools. He promoted integrated census products tied to national development plans.
He later served as UNFPA Country Representative in Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In the DRC, his leadership contributed to the creation of the Programme National de Planification Familiale (PNPF), the country's first national family planning programme, documented in Jane T. Bertrand's 2022 volume Family Planning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Confronting the Chaos.
Since leaving the UN system, Dr Dackam Ngatchou has worked as an independent consultant on census methodology, monitoring and evaluation, and demographic governance. He continues to advise governments, UN agencies, and regional bodies on digital censuses, data sovereignty, and the demographic dividend.
He publishes in both French and English and has authored numerous works on maternal education, child mortality, census cost optimization, and family planning policy. His research and policy leadership continue to influence demographic governance strategies across the African continent.
Education
PhD in Demography, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (1987)
Former Roles
UNFPA Country Representative (Gabon, Congo, DRC)
Experience
30 years in demographic policy and census work
Languages
French and English
Key Contributions
- •Led modernization of national census systems across 20+ African countries
- •Helped establish the DRC's first National Family Planning Programme (PNPF) documented in Bertrand (2022)
- •Pioneered cost-reduction methodologies for African censuses, reducing costs by 30-60% in some contexts
- •Trained hundreds of demographers and statisticians through IFORD and UNFPA programmes
Selected Publications
- •Éducation de la mère et la mortalité des enfants en Afrique (1988) - Doctoral thesis
- •Mobilisation des ressources nationales pour les recensements en Afrique (2003)
- •Co-author, Arguments santé pour la planification familiale en Afrique
- •Multiple articles on census methodology, data governance, and maternal health
Key Institutions
Advisory Areas
- •Population and housing census design
- •Family planning policy and implementation
- •Data governance and national statistical systems
- •Demographic dividend strategies
- •Census cost optimization
- •Capacity building for statisticians
Areas of Expertise
Specialized knowledge developed through decades of field work and policy leadership
Trusted by Global Leaders
Over three decades, Dr. Dackam Ngatchou has briefed, collaborated with, or advised several heads of state and senior UN executives on demographic governance and national census strategy.
With President Denis Sassou-Nguesso
As UNFPA Country Representative, briefing the President of the Republic of the Congo (then President of the African Union) on maternal mortality in Africa and Congo, emphasizing the necessity to elaborate a national programme for reducing maternal mortality. Accompanied by the WHO Country Representative.
With Michel Camdessus
Meeting the former IMF Managing Director during his visit to Congo. As UNFPA Representative, explaining the local challenges for mobilization of financial resources for collecting data for development, including demographic indicators. Yaya Moussa was the IMF Country Representative in Congo-Brazzaville.
With Kofi Annan
Official visit to UN Country Team in Congo. As UNFPA Representative, engaging with the UN Secretary-General during discussions on population policy and regional development frameworks.
With President Joseph Kabila
With President Joseph Kabila, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid (UNFPA Executive Director), and Michel Sidibé (UNAIDS Executive Director) during their official visit to the DRC. Supporting the DRC government during the establishment of the first National Family Planning Programme (PNPF) and fighting HIV/AIDS.
With Thoraya Ahmed Obaid
Working directly with the UNFPA Executive Director and UN Under-Secretary-General on strategic country programme leadership. Discussing division of labour between UN agencies on HIV/AIDS and reproductive health issues.
Career Impact
Explore detailed case studies and outcomes from three decades of demographic policy leadership across Africa.