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Ghana

HP+ More recent Ghana publications are available.

  • Based on the UTETEZI Project curriculum, Advocacy for Improved Access to Services for MSM: A Workshop Curriculum for a Multi-Stakeholder Policy Advocacy Project, this advocacy for policy change guide is designed for use by MSM (men who have sex with men) groups, community-based organizations (CBOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), and individuals working in HIV and MSM health to help them advocate regionally, nationally, and locally for improved HIV and health-related MSM policies. In particular, this guide can serve as an important tool for CSOs working on MSM issues in hostile legal environments.

  • The Government of Ghana in 2012 included family planning commodities and services in the benefit package of the National Health Insurance Scheme and thus the need to assess the cost. The analysis in this report focuses on costing family planning services provided in the National family planning protocol of 2007 which are currently being delivered in health facilities and NGOs in Ghana. The objective of the study was to determine the unit cost (direct and indirect) of providing family planning services in Ghana and also project the resource requirements for scaling up family planning services in Ghana from 2012 to 2016.

  • The Health Policy Project (HPP) helped countries achieve their health goals by building capacity for policy, advocacy, governance, and finance at multiple levels. The project developed global tools and best practices for policy work, promoted South-South sharing and collaboration, and carried out regional and country-specific policy initiatives. The files included in this zip document provide brief program overviews for each country highlighting key accomplishments. Individual briefs are available from the country pages.

  • Stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV (PLHIV) and key populations, such as sex workers and men who have sex with men, reduces access to critical services, adversely affects health outcomes, and undermines human rights. Legal services, however, are poorly resourced in low- and middle-income countries, and access is often limited to the wealthiest people.

    Drawing on lessons learned from other contexts, the Health Policy Project (HPP) collated international best practices, research on legal codes and systems in Ghana, and consultations with key stakeholders to determine approaches to monitoring discrimination. Using this information, the report the describes internet- and text message-based platforms for reporting HIV-related discrimination to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), providing a mechanism for civil society organizations to report cases to CHRAJ, track case progress, and use data on stigma and discrimination to guide future advocacy on HIV- and other related policies in Ghana.

  • This brochure provides an overview of a web-based platform that civil society organizations in Ghana can use to report cases of discrimination to the country's Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). The system, developed with support from the USAID- and PEPFAR-funded Health Policy Project, links civil society to CHRAJ through case tracking, follow-up, and data reporting. The brochure provides information on why someone would submit a complaint, how to submit a complaint, and how to follow up on a complaint. It is meant solely for informational purposes. Step-by-step guidance on how to use the system is provided by the Discrimination Reporting System User Guide.

  • The Discrimination Reporting System User Guide outlines how civil society organizations in Ghana can use a web-based platform to report cases of discrimination to the country's Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). The system, developed with the support of the USAID- and PEPFAR-funded Health Policy Project, links civil society to CHRAJ through case tracking, follow-up, and data reporting. The user guide provides civil society organizations with a visual description of how to navigate the online system, submit complaints on behalf of clients, track the progress of complaints, and generate reports. It will be distributed to civil society organizations in Ghana that support people living with HIV and key populations.

  • For a country to successfully achieve its family planning goals and targets, stakeholders must fully understand the investment needed to attain them. The Health Policy Project, in collaboration with Ghana's National Population Council, recently reviewed data on demographic patterns, family planning costs, and projected funding to inform an application of the GAP (Gather, Analyze, and Plan) Tool. The tool is designed to project the contraceptive, service provision, and program support funding gaps in a country to ultimately help policymakers, decisionmakers, and development partners understand the costs involved in reaching national family planning goals and addressing challenges to progress. This presentation and brief summarize the current policy environment in Ghana for family planning, the targets set by the National Population Policy, and the gap in current and estimated resources needed. These evidence-based advocacy materials aim to bolster financial and political support for the family planning program in Ghana.

    For more information on the GAP Tool, visit the Software and Models page of the Health Policy Project website.

  • The Sub-Saharan Africa MSM Engagement (SAME) Tool was developed based on literature reviews and expert/technical inputs from the USAID- and PEPFAR-funded Health Policy Project (HPP), the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, amfAR, African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (AMSHeR), and USAID. In collaboration with eight leading MSM organizations—one each from Rwanda, Malawi, Togo, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, Ghana, and Cameroon—HPP and AMSHeR piloted the tool from April to June 2013, in both English and French. This poster summarizes the pilot study, and was presented at the 20th International AIDS Conference in July 2014.

  • The Health Policy Project, in collaboration with the National Population Council (NPC) of Ghana, supported the development of a RAPID application for the Volta region in Ghana. The NPC, comprising governmental and nongovernmental organizations, focuses on the state of family planning in Ghana and the need for more support and funding for the national family planning program. “RAPID” stands for “Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development,” and it is a tool designed to help policymakers understand the relationships between fertility, population growth, health, education, agriculture, and economic growth. The presentation uses RAPID projections to highlight the impact of Ghana's population growth on national development and its ability to provide education, health, and nutrition to all its citizens. It also highlights the policies the government must put in place to benefit from the demographic dividend.

  • The Health Policy Project, in collaboration with the National Population Council (NPC) of Ghana, supported the development of a RAPID application for the Ashanti region in Ghana. The NPC, comprising governmental and nongovernmental organizations, focuses on the state of family planning in Ghana and the need for more support and funding for the national family planning program. “RAPID” stands for “Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development,” and it is a tool designed to help policymakers understand the relationships between fertility, population growth, health, education, agriculture, and economic growth. The brief uses RAPID projections to highlight the impact of Ghana's population growth on national development and its ability to provide education, health, and nutrition to all its citizens. It also highlights the policies the government must put in place to benefit from the demographic dividend.

  • The Health Policy Project, in collaboration with the National Population Council (NPC) of Ghana, supported the development of a RAPID application for the Brong Ahafo region in Ghana. The NPC, comprising governmental and nongovernmental organizations, focuses on the state of family planning in Ghana and the need for more support and funding for the national family planning program. “RAPID” stands for “Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development,” and it is a tool designed to help policymakers understand the relationships between fertility, population growth, health, education, agriculture, and economic growth. The brief uses RAPID projections to highlight the impact of Ghana's population growth on national development and its ability to provide education, health, and nutrition to all its citizens. It also highlights the policies the government must put in place to benefit from the demographic dividend.

  • The Health Policy Project, in collaboration with the National Population Council (NPC) of Ghana, supported the development of a RAPID application for the Central region in Ghana. The NPC, comprising governmental and nongovernmental organizations, focuses on the state of family planning in Ghana and the need for more support and funding for the national family planning program. “RAPID” stands for “Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development,” and it is a tool designed to help policymakers understand the relationships between fertility, population growth, health, education, agriculture, and economic growth. The brief uses RAPID projections to highlight the impact of Ghana's population growth on national development and its ability to provide education, health, and nutrition to all its citizens. It also highlights the policies the government must put in place to benefit from the demographic dividend.

  • The Health Policy Project, in collaboration with the National Population Council (NPC) of Ghana, supported the development of a RAPID application for the Eastern region in Ghana. The NPC, comprising governmental and nongovernmental organizations, focuses on the state of family planning in Ghana and the need for more support and funding for the national family planning program. “RAPID” stands for “Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development,” and it is a tool designed to help policymakers understand the relationships between fertility, population growth, health, education, agriculture, and economic growth. The brief uses RAPID projections to highlight the impact of Ghana's population growth on national development and its ability to provide education, health, and nutrition to all its citizens. It also highlights the policies the government must put in place to benefit from the demographic dividend.

  • The Health Policy Project, in collaboration with the National Population Council (NPC) of Ghana, supported the development of a RAPID application for the Greater Accra region in Ghana. The NPC, comprising governmental and nongovernmental organizations, focuses on the state of family planning in Ghana and the need for more support and funding for the national family planning program. “RAPID” stands for “Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development,” and it is a tool designed to help policymakers understand the relationships between fertility, population growth, health, education, agriculture, and economic growth. The brief uses RAPID projections to highlight the impact of Ghana's population growth on national development and its ability to provide education, health, and nutrition to all its citizens. It also highlights the policies the government must put in place to benefit from the demographic dividend.

  • The Health Policy Project, in collaboration with the National Population Council (NPC) of Ghana, supported the development of a RAPID application for the Northern region in Ghana. The NPC, comprising governmental and nongovernmental organizations, focuses on the state of family planning in Ghana and the need for more support and funding for the national family planning program. “RAPID” stands for “Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development,” and it is a tool designed to help policymakers understand the relationships between fertility, population growth, health, education, agriculture, and economic growth. The brief uses RAPID projections to highlight the impact of Ghana's population growth on national development and its ability to provide education, health, and nutrition to all its citizens. It also highlights the policies the government must put in place to benefit from the demographic dividend.

  • In 2013, the USAID-funded Health Policy Project, in collaboration with the National Population Council (NPC) of Ghana, supported the development of a Ghana RAPID application. The NPC, comprising governmental and nongovernmental organizations, focuses on the state of family planning in Ghana and the need for more support and funding for the national family planning program. “RAPID” stands for “Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development,” and it is a tool designed to help policymakers understand the relationships between fertility, population growth, health, education, agriculture, and economic growth. The presentation uses RAPID projections to highlight the impact of Ghana's population growth on national development and its ability to provide education, health, and nutrition to all its citizens. The presentation also highlights the policies the government must put in place to benefit from the demographic dividend.

  • The Health Policy Project, in collaboration with the National Population Council (NPC) of Ghana, supported the development of a RAPID application for the Upper East region in Ghana. The NPC, comprising governmental and nongovernmental organizations, focuses on the state of family planning in Ghana and the need for more support and funding for the national family planning program. “RAPID” stands for “Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development,” and it is a tool designed to help policymakers understand the relationships between fertility, population growth, health, education, agriculture, and economic growth. The brief uses RAPID projections to highlight the impact of Ghana's population growth on national development and its ability to provide education, health, and nutrition to all its citizens. It also highlights the policies the government must put in place to benefit from the demographic dividend.

  • The Health Policy Project, in collaboration with the National Population Council (NPC) of Ghana, supported the development of a RAPID application for the Upper West region in Ghana. The NPC, comprising governmental and nongovernmental organizations, focuses on the state of family planning in Ghana and the need for more support and funding for the national family planning program. “RAPID” stands for “Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development,” and it is a tool designed to help policymakers understand the relationships between fertility, population growth, health, education, agriculture, and economic growth. The brief uses RAPID projections to highlight the impact of Ghana's population growth on national development and its ability to provide education, health, and nutrition to all its citizens. It also highlights the policies the government must put in place to benefit from the demographic dividend.

  • The Health Policy Project, in collaboration with the National Population Council (NPC) of Ghana, supported the development of a RAPID application for the Volta region in Ghana. The NPC, comprising governmental and nongovernmental organizations, focuses on the state of family planning in Ghana and the need for more support and funding for the national family planning program. “RAPID” stands for “Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development,” and it is a tool designed to help policymakers understand the relationships between fertility, population growth, health, education, agriculture, and economic growth. The brief uses RAPID projections to highlight the impact of Ghana's population growth on national development and its ability to provide education, health, and nutrition to all its citizens. It also highlights the policies the government must put in place to benefit from the demographic dividend.

  • The Health Policy Project, in collaboration with the National Population Council (NPC) of Ghana, supported the development of a RAPID application for the Western region in Ghana. The NPC, comprising governmental and nongovernmental organizations, focuses on the state of family planning in Ghana and the need for more support and funding for the national family planning program. “RAPID” stands for “Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development,” and it is a tool designed to help policymakers understand the relationships between fertility, population growth, health, education, agriculture, and economic growth. The brief uses RAPID projections to highlight the impact of Ghana's population growth on national development and its ability to provide education, health, and nutrition to all its citizens. It also highlights the policies the government must put in place to benefit from the demographic dividend.

  • Discrimination against people living with HIV and key populations is a common and challenging problem. A year ago, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in Ghana launched a web-based system to provide a simple way for reporting HIV- and key population–related discrimination with help from the USAID and PEPFAR-supported Health Policy Project (HPP). This brief describes the outcomes of the discrimination reporting system after one year and ways forward. 

    Click here to read a blog on HPP's work on the CHRAJ stigma and discrimination reporting portal.  

  • Access to maternal health services in Ghana has improved significantly over the past 15 years—most dramatically since 2008, when the government began providing free general care for pregnant women, as well as a maternal benefit package covering deliveries, antenatal and postnatal care, and pediatric care for the first three months of life. The National Health Insurance Fund finances all of these services. To help Ghana’s policymakers anticipate the health and economic benefits at varying levels of investment in family planning from 2014–2020, the USAID-funded Health Policy Project (HPP) conducted this analysis, using its new ImpactNow model.

  • Countries in West Africa (WA) have made significant progress in addressing the HIV epidemic. However, HIV prevalence among sex workers (SWs) and men who have sex with men (MSM) remains high, and data are unavailable for transgender (TG) populations. Services that meet the needs of SWs, MSM, and TG are often unavailable outside of major cities. Stigma and discrimination (S&D) against key populations impact service uptake and increase migration, making it harder to reach these populations. Policies—such as laws, national strategies, and operational procedures—impact service availability and uptake. To inform decisionmakers and improve access to HIV-related services for mobile SWs, MSM, and TG populations in West Africa, the USAID- and PEPFAR-funded Health Policy Project (HPP) conducted an analysis of key policies in countries along the Abidjan-Lagos corridor and Burkina Faso.

  • The USAID- and PEPFAR-funded Health Policy Project assisted the Ghana AIDS Commission with updating the country's National HIV/AIDS and STI Policy. The updated policy reflects the state-of-the-art and best practices in HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment, especially in the areas of human rights and key populations. The new policy provides the overarching vision for the national HIV and AIDS program in Ghana and will ensure that all new strategies and guidelines are in line with the best practices in HIV implementation incorporated into the new policy. 

  • At the end of 2013 an estimated 189,930–206,280 adults and 34,560–36,250 children were living with HIV in Ghana. There is strong evidence to suggest a disproportionately higher HIV prevalence among certain key population groups, such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers (FSWs). Ghana’s epidemic continues to evolve. The USAID- and PEPFAR-supported Health Policy Project (HPP) partnered with the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) to conduct a focused analysis of the future effectiveness of HIV prevention in the country related to possible funding from external partners. This report offers information on the targets and highlights cost-effective decisions Ghana can make over the coming years. It comes at an opportune time as the country’s current National Strategic Plan (NSP) for HIV and AIDS comes to a close in 2015.

  • At the request of the Ghana AIDS Commission and other in-country stakeholders, the Health Policy Project (HPP) updated an analysis of the effects of various funding scenarios on program impact and HIV incidence and coverage. The project used the Goals Model to develop these scenarios, which were based on new fiscal realities and provided stakeholders with information to revise a proposal to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. HPP’s Goals Model helps countries respond to the HIV epidemic by showing how the amount and allocation of funding is related to the achievement of national goals, such as the reduction in HIV prevalence and expansion of care and support. The information from this analysis will continue to guide ongoing decision making and planning in Ghana regarding the country's HIV treatment, care, and support programs.

  • The response to HIV and AIDS is an integral component of efforts to improve social and economic conditions in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Available data suggest that HIV prevalence rates among key populations, particularly female sex workers (FSWs) and men who have sex with men (MSM), are several times higher than the national averages for both countries. These groups also face additional barriers to social acceptance and access to services, compared with the general population. Accordingly, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire each completed a Strategic Framework to guide interventions and service delivery specifically for key populations. The frameworks propose a package of services that includes HIV prevention; HIV treatment, care, and support; and psychosocial support and legal services. This brief describes the costing analysis conducted by HPP and in-country stakeholders to provide country-specific costing data on key populations to provide an evidence base for policy-making processes.

  • As part of its overall effort to promote evidence-based policies, decision making, planning, and advocacy, the Health Policy Project has worked with the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) and other important  stakeholders to conduct a costing study of services to key populations in Ghana (males who have sex with males and female sex workers). This will ensure that Ghana has country-specific costing data available. The study team collected information from service providers at eight purposively selected facilities and from program managers at the regional and central levels. The costing data are now being used to update Ghana's Goals Model and for planning, budgeting, and decision-making purposes (e.g, in conjunction with the development of Global Fund proposals and development of operational plans and budgets). In addition, one of the purposes of analyzing unit costs is to understand what is driving costs and identify areas where there is potential to gain efficiencies and reduce costs without negative impacts on quality.

    The report does not include specific operational details on how each of these different levels may use study results for their individual planning, budgeting and resource mobilization, and/or allocation purposes. The accompanying Estimating the Unit Costs of Providing Key HIV Services to Female Sex Workers and Males Who Have Sex with Males in Ghana: A Data Use Guide summarizes key findings from the study and provides specific details on how study results may be best used to inform the evidence base for the Ghana HIV program.

  • As part of its overall effort to promote evidence-based policies, decision making, and planning and advocacy, the Health Policy Project has worked with the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) and other important stakeholders to conduct a costing study of services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. This will ensure that Ghana has country-specific costing data available. The study selected 14 sites within the country, including teaching, regional, and district hospitals providing PMTCT services. To understand differences in services being delivered at the community level, the study included three community-based health planning service sites and three maternity home sites. The study team interviewed two programmatic and finance staff at the 14 sites and central-level program managers and financial officers during data collection. The costing data are now being used to update Ghana's Goals Model and for planning, budgeting, and decision-making purposes (e.g., in conjunction with the development of Global Fund proposals).

    The report does not include specific operational details on how each of these different levels may use study results for their individual planning, budgeting and resource mobilization, and/or allocation purposes. The accompanying Estimating the Unit Costs of Providing HIV Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission Services in Ghana: A Data Use Guide summarizes key findings from the study and provides specific details on how study results may be best used to inform the evidence base for the Ghana PMTCT program.