Geographical Locations - Ghana

• (Statistical) Number of Inhabitants per Doctor:
• CIA World Factbook : Ghana

Organisations and Networks

UN and Multinational

• WHO
  - WHO Country Profile -Ghana
  - WHO - Tobacco Control: Country Profile - Ghana
• - WHO - Environmental Burden of Disease: Country Profile – Ghana
  - WHO - Malaria Country Profile - Ghana
• WHO - Regional Office AFRO in Brazzaville, Congo
• UNDP - Ghana
• UNICEF - At a Glance: Ghana

Government

• Republic of Ghana
• Ministry of Health
• Ghana Health Service
• Ghana AIDS Commission
  This website aims to inform and educate the people of Ghana on the risks and the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

Non-Government

• CARE and Ghana
  CARE is an NGO not-for-profit organisation. CARE's mission in Ghana is to enable the underprivileged and the broader society to realise their potential, and help to strengthen the linkages between them
• Freedom From Hunger Virtual Tour Ghana
  Freedom from Hunger aims to bring innovative and sustainable self-help solutions to the fight against chronic hunger and poverty. Together with local partners, it equip families with resources they need to build futures of health, hope and dignity.
• Obaahema
  The mission of Obaahema, Ghana's women's network is to celebrate the achievements of Enterprising Ghanaian Woman to inspire others to emulate their success and reach their fullest potential.
• Peace Corps Ghana
  Peace Corps is an American organisation with the aim of helping the people of interested countries in meeting their needs for trained men and women. Peace Corps volunteers have been working in Ghana since 1961.
• USAID Health Ghana

Academic Institutions

• University of Ghana
  The University of Ghana's mission is to develop world-class human resources and capabilities to meet national development needs and global challenges through quality teaching, learning, research and knowledge dissemination.
• College of Health Sciences
  The mission of the College of Health Sciences is to produce highly qualified and competent health professionals and medical scientists to provide promotive, preventive and curative services to meet the health needs of the nation and the global community through which class excellence in teaching, research and dissemination of knowledge.
• University of Cape Coast
  The University of Cape Coast (UCC) was established in 1962 out of a need for highly qualified and skilled manpower in education, thus, it was established to train graduate teachers for second cycle institutions; Teacher Training Colleges and Technical Institutes, a mission that the two Universities existing then were ill-equipped to fulfil. The University has since its establishment added to its functions the training of educational planners, administrators and agriculturalists

National Policy and Related Documents

• Health Sector Gender Policy
• Legal and policy framework for health information and health data reporting (draft)
• National Health Policy: Creating Wealth through Health

Reports, Guidelines, and Projects

• An in-depth analysis of HIV prevalence in Ghana: further analysis of demographic and health surveys data
  This study looks at a sub -ample of sexually experienced men and women who were tested for HIV during the 2003 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS).
• Child Labor in Ghana Cocoa Production: Focus upon Agricultural Tasks, Ergonomic Exposures, and Associated Injuries and Illnesses
  Objectives: The goal of this study was to determine the occupational hazards experienced by children harvesting cocoa in western Ghana in order to design a vocational literacy life skills curriculum and radio social messaging campaign with a safety component to decrease hazardous work exposures in child agricultural work. Methods: An observational analysis was conducted of children aged 9 through 17 based upon personal interviews of agricultural workers, focus groups, and direct observation of work practices and activities. Job site analysis incorporated task mapping, job hazard review, and a review of equipment and use of protective gear. Results: Children and young people aged 9 through 17 are exposed to hazardous occupational exposures including strenuous work, sharp tools, and pesticides. Lack of training in proper safety practices and inadequate personal protective equipment were commonly noted. Injuries and illnesses included musculoskeletal disorders, sprains, strains, lacerations to the head, fractures, eye injuries, rashes, and coughing. Conclusion: Children working in cocoa harvesting are exposed to physical and chemical hazards without proper training or personal protective equipment. Unless safety interventions occur, there are potential long-term adverse health consequences. [author abstract] [Public Health Reports / November–December 2005 / Volume 120, pp.649-655]
• Evaluating Health Research Capacity: An Evidence-Based Tool
  "An increasingly important goal of governments and external agencies in developing countries is the need for 'capacity building' in health research. The goal of building capacity to improve the ability to conduct research, to use results effectively, and to promote demand for research. There is thus an urgent need for an evidence-based tool for determining whether the required infrastructure is present in a given setting, as well as for underpinning the design and evaluation of capacity-building programmes in health research. This article, published in PLoS Medicine Volume 3, Issue 8, describes the development and use of such a tool through analysis of published models and effective capacity-building principles, together with structured reflection and action by stakeholders at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana."
• Fertility Transition in Ghana Revisited
  The overarching objective of this paper by Samuel Agyei-Mensah is to examine the fertility transition in Ghana since the 1960s. It highlights the difference stages and rates of fertility decline and the influence of geographical diversity and socioeconomic factors on the rates of decline.
• Ghana Community-based Health Planning and Service Initiative: Fostering Evidence-based Organizational Change and Development in a Resource Constrained Setting
  This study was published by the Population Council in 2003.
• Ghana: Urban Health Assessment
  "USAID's Environmental Health Project (EHP), together with EGAT/UP and the USAID/Ghana Mission, conducted a rapid assessment of urban health needs in Ghana in July 2002. Although Ghana's cities are growing rapidly, national development policies and international assistance packages have not yet focused attention on the needs of urban populations. USAID/Ghana requested this assessment in preparation for a strategic planning exercise that will determine the future direction of its population, health and nutrition assistance." [Activity Report 114 - Prepared for the USAID Mission to Ghana under Environmental Health Project 26568/UH.GHANA.ASSESS, December 2002]
• Inconsistent Reporting of Female Genital Cutting Status in Northern Ghana: Explanatory Factors and Analytical Consequences
  "Although many cross-sectional social surveys have included questions about female genital cutting status and correlated personal characteristics, no longitudinal studies have been launched that permit investigation of response biases associated with such surveys. This study [by Elizabeth F. Jackson, Patricia Akweongo, Evelyn Sakeah, Abraham Hodgson, Rofina Asuru, and James F. Phillips] draws upon the findings of a longitudinal study of women aged 15 to 49 in rural northern Ghana. The self-reported circumcision status of women interviewed in 1995 was compared with the status they reported when they were interviewed again in 2000 after the government began enforcing a law banning the practice and public information campaigns against it were launched. In all, 13 percent of respondents who reported in 1995 that they had been circumcised stated that they had not been circumcised in the 2000 reinterview; this inconsistency reached 50 percent for the youngest age group. Analysis shows that women who said they had not been circumcised are significantly younger, more likely to be educated, and less likely to practice traditional religion than are women who reported that they were circumcised. Factors that may explain these correlates of denial are discussed, and implications for research are reviewed." [author abstract] [Studies in Family Planning, 2003; 34[3]: 200–210]
• Integrating Oral Health in Primary Health Care in Ghana
  "The Primary Health Care [PHC] concept promulgated at Alma Ata did not define its application in the delivery of oral health services. For reasons of equity, accessibility and coverage, Ghanaian dental professionals have felt the need to integrate some 'basic oral health care services' into the existing Primary Health Care program. Mobile dental teams with portable equipment and headed by dentists are advocated whose main duties will be to provide 'basic oral health care services' in the sub-district communities with referrals to district and regional centers. It is argued that the goals of primary health care can still be maintained without the employment of middle-level 'provider' auxiliaries because of the peculiar situation in Ghana. This paper examines the dental health services in Ghana and suggests that Ghanaians, especially the rural population, will enjoy more equitable, accessible and affordable dental services if these were integrated into the PHC system." [Canadian Association of Public Health Dentistry, 2003, reprinted from Ghana Medical Journal]
• National report on the progress of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) Declaration of Commitment on HIV and AIDS: Ghana
  "The HIV pandemic continues to challenge the development and economy of Ghana. Over two decades, from 1986 to 2006, 121,050 cases of AIDS were reported by the Ministry of Health, and in 2006, about 297,000 Ghanaians are estimated to be living with HIV. Though the prevalence rate in Ghana has remained below 5%, for over the past 16 years, the number of persons living with HIV continues to rise daily. Through the Ghana AIDS Commission, the Government has marshalled a comprehensive multi-sectoral response to prevent new infections, treat and care for persons living with HIV (PLHIV) and mitigate the impact of the disease. Through the implementation of the National Strategic Framework NSF I (2001 - 2005) and NSF II (2006 - 2010) various structures have been put in place, capacity has been built and resources mobilised towards an effective response."
• Severe falciparum malaria in young children of the Kassena-Nankana district of northern Ghana
  Study design: Severe falciparum malaria in children was studied as part of the characterization of the Kassena-Nankana District Ghana for future malaria vaccine trials. Children aged 6–59 months with diagnosis suggestive of acute disease were characterized using the standard WHO definition for severe malaria. Results: Of the total children screened, 45.2% (868/1921) satisfied the criteria for severe malaria. Estimated incidence of severe malaria was 3.4% (range: 0.4–8.3%) cases per year. The disease incidence was seasonal: 560 cases per year, of which 70.4% occurred during the wet season (June- October). The main manifestations were severe anaemia (36.5%); prolonged or multiple convulsions (21.6%); respiratory distress (24.4%) and cerebral malaria (5.4%). Others were hyperpyrexia (11.1%); hyperparasitaemia (18.5%); hyperlactaemia (33.4%); and hypoglycaemia (3.2%). The frequency of severe anaemia was 39.8% in children of six to 24 months of age and 25.9% in children of 25–60 months of age. More children (8.7%) in the 25–60 months age group had cerebral malaria compared with 4.4% in the 6–24 months age group. The overall case fatality ratio was 3.5%. Cerebral malaria and hyperlactataemia were the significant risk factors associated with death. Severe anaemia, though a major presentation, was not significantly associated with risk of death. Conclusion: Severe malaria is a frequent and seasonal childhood disease in northern Ghana and maybe an adequate endpoint for future malaria vaccine trials. [author abstract] [Malaria Journal 2007, 6: 96]
• The Ghana Community-based Health Planning and Services Initiative for scaling up service delivery innovation
  Research projects demonstrating ways to improve health services often fail to have an impact on what national health programmes actually do. An approach to evidence-based policy development has been launched in Ghana which bridges the gap between research and programme implementation. After nearly two decades of national debate and investigation into appropriate strategies for service delivery at the periphery, the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) Initiative has employed strategies tested in the successful Navrongo experiment to guide national health reforms that mobilize volunteerism, resources and cultural institutions for supporting community-based primary health care. Over a 2-year period, 104 out of the 110 districts in Ghana started CHPS. This paper reviews the development of the CHPS initiative, describes the processes of implementation and relates the initiative to the principles of scaling up organizational change which it embraces. Evidence from the national monitoring and evaluation programme provides insights into CHPS’ success and identifies constraints on future progress. [author abstract] [Health Policy and Planning; 20(1): 25–34, 2005]

Educational Resources

• CDC Traveler's Health West Africa
• Library of Congress, Country Study: Ghana
• UNAIDS/WHO Epidemiological Fact Sheet on HIV and AIDS: Core data on epidemiology and response – 2008 update – Ghana
  Number of people living with HIV: 260 000; Adults aged 15 to 49 prevalence rate: 1.9%; Adults aged 15 and up living with HIV: 250 000; Women aged 15 and up living with HIV: 150 000; Children aged 0 to 14 living with HIV: 17 000; Deaths due to AIDS: 21 000; Orphans due to AIDS aged 0 to 17: 160 000.