Ghana
Ghana has one of West Africa’s most vibrant economies and most stable governments, is rich in natural resources, and has achieved a continuous reduction in poverty in recent years. Still, nearly 30 percent of its 26 million people are living below the poverty line, and forty-two percent of the population is under 15 years of age. Infectious diseases pose major health risks to the lives of Ghanaians. Between 3.1 and 3.5 million cases of malaria are reported each year, and UNAIDS estimates an HIV prevalence rate of 1.5 percent.
Although the HIV/AIDS epidemic is generalized, a few subgroups, such as injecting drug users, prisoners, female sex workers, and men who have sex with men, have a much higher risk of contracting the virus. The country has an estimated 138 residential homes for children, in which most children living there have at least one living parent and/or family relatives.
MEASURE Evaluation worked in Ghana to provide technical assistance in carrying out components of the national HIV and AIDS strategy and in enhancing the government’s system to provide alternative care for children. We worked with the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) to evaluate the National HIV Prevention Program for Key Populations, namely female sex workers and men who have sex with men. We also worked with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to assess and strengthen the government system that prevents children from being unnecessarily separated from their families, and provides alternative family-based care for children who otherwise don’t have it.
Support focused specifically on:
- Implementing Ghana’s National Strategic Plan for Most-At-Risk Populations (MARPs), now referred to as “key populations,” which aims to reduce new HIV infections by reaching 80 percent of all key populations by 2015. MEASURE Evaluation conducted a mid-term report in 2014, which found a sizeable portion of key populations were being reached but that there was more to be done to eliminate counting errors or double counting of persons being reached. Improvements to systems are underway.
- Working with the Ghana AIDS Commission on Development of a Nationally Coordinated Evaluation Plan for the Ghana National Strategy for Key Populations, with particular emphasis on HIV-prevention work targeting female sex workers and men who have sex with men.
- Assisting the Ghana AIDS Commission and other stakeholders to develop an impact evaluation plan for the national key populations strategy, following UNAIDS guidelines.
- Work with the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development (MGLSD) to assess, address and monitor alternative care for children
Related Content
An Assessment of the Prerequisites for a Social Welfare Information Management System in Ghana
USAID Ghana's Strengthening the Care Continuum Project: Midterm Assessment
Building a Strong and Interoperable Health Information System for Ghana
Improving Family Planning Service Delivery in Ghana
Evaluation Plan for the Ghana National Strategy for Key Populations
A Performance Evaluation of the National HIV Prevention Program for FSW and MSM in Ghana
Know Your HIV/AIDS Response: A Pilot Test of a New Service Mapping Tool Kit in Greater Accra, Ghana
Ghana Country Profile: Health Information System Indicators
