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UNFPA's Country Programme of Assistance to Ghana

UNFPA is currently the implementing its Fifth Country Programme of Assistance to Ghana (CP5), which was the outcome of negotiations between the Government of Ghana (GOG) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) within the general framework of the programme of assistance that Ghana has been receiving from UNFPA.
The goal of the CP5 is to contribute to improved quality of life of the people of Ghana by supporting Population, Reproductive Health and Gender policies and programmes.

Three Sub-Programmes have been formulated for implementation, namely:

  • Reproductive Health (RH).
  • Population and Development (P&D), and
  • Gender and Empowerment of Women

Advocacy and HIV/AIDS are cross-cutting issues incorporated in various segments of the Programme.  An innovative element in the CP5 is that the programme was developed with the full participation of the government and civil society partners under the chairmanship of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. The programme is aligned with the Ghana/Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II), the National Population Policy, the Programme of Work of the Ministry of Health within the framework of Sectorwide Approaches (SWAPs) and the National Gender Policy.

The geographic focus of the programme is on Districts, but it has a National coverage in reproductive health commodity procurement, the development of standards and protocols, data collection and advocacy. This preference was informed by a) Lessons Learned; b) Social and Cultural Diversity; c) Poverty Levels; and d) Government Pro-poor and Decentralisation Policies.

Through a joint programming arrangement with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), the programme will continue its interventions in the three northern regions while reinforcing its activities in the Central Region to maximise the impact of the AYA and EC projects. Some districts from the Volta Region have also been enrolled on the programme for their geographical and cultural diversity.

At the national level, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) and the UNFPA provide joint leadership for programme management and direction. The MOFEP is responsible for ensuring national ownership and full synergy between the UNFPA-supported programmes and government policies, plans and projects.

Planning, programming and implementation of population, reproductive health and gender programme activities are undertaken at the national, regional and district levels. Selected Non-governmental Organisations, Civil Society Organisations, Community Based Organisations and Faith Based Organisations at local and national levels are implementing the programmes. These work with the District Assemblies and decentralised agencies to mobilise the adolescents/youth, female and other vulnerable and excluded persons.

The major activities being implemented under each component of the programme are as follows:

Reproductive Health Component


  • Emergency Obstetric Care
  • Repositioning Family Planning
  • STI/HIV and AIDS Prevention
  • Provision of ASRH Services
  • RH Services in Crisis Situations
  • Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
  • Ensure Availability of Reproductive Health Information
  • Support Capacity Building of Media
  • Strengthen Youth Involvement in Reproductive Health
  • Ensure Reproductive Health Commodity Security
  • Contribute to Strengthening National ‘Health Management Information System’
  • Develop ASRH as National Strategic Focus of RH
  • Advocate and Support Review of RH
  • Conduct Evidence-Based Research
  • Support the Creation of Enabling Environment for RH

Population and Development

  • Support Conduct of 2010 Population and Housing Census
  • Strengthen Vital Registration
  • Improve Quality of Data Through Baseline and Operational Researches
  • Strengthen Management Information Systems
  • Enhance Capacity for Integrating Population Variables
  • Support Tertiary and Research Institutions on Population and Development Issues
  • Strengthen Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation
  • Enhance Capacity to Provide Reliable Data
  • Support Outreach Programmes
  • Support for the Elderly

Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

  • Promote Enforcement of Existing Laws
  • Strengthen Institutions Dealing with Women and Children
  • Promote Women’s Economic Participation
  • Establish Mechanisms for Male Participation in Promoting Gender Issues
  • Enhance Communities’ Capacity for Eliminating Negative Cultural Practices
  • Promote Implementation of Affirmative Action for Women
  • Promote Gender Sensitivity in Budgeting and Programming

The EC/UNFPA/ACP project is on-going. The project aims to contribute to increased adoption of better health seeking behaviour and the utilization of quality reproductive health services in the Central Region of Ghana. This will be achieved through:

  • Improved access to quality reproductive health services.
  • Increased knowledge, positive attitudes and behaviour change among service providers, clients and communities regarding reproductive and sexual health.
  • Increased availability of sexual and reproductive health information and services for adolescents
    Below is a list of Implementing Partners and their Thematic/Programme Areas
Thematic/Programme Areas Partner Agencies/Organisations

OVERALL COORDINATION

 Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, MoFEP

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

Output 1.         Improved access to maternal health care and youth-friendly services in programme districts.

Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, CHAG; GRMA; PPAG; GSMF; SPMDP; GRNA; The Teaching Hospitals; Ghana Prevention of Maternal Mortality; NAP+; SWAA; and GHANET

Output 2.         Improved reproductive health behaviour among men, women, young people, particularly those living in -supported districts

Ghana Education Service, GES; National Youth Council; VSO; CEDEP; ISODEC; CENCOSAD; FBOs; NFED; ISD; Media (Print, electronic); MCAN, Junior Graphic etc; IAE; Universities (UCC; KNUST; UG, UDS, 

Output 3.         Strengthened capacity of implementing agencies to manage, plan, formulate implement, monitor and evaluate reproductive and adolescent health services at the national level and UNFPA-supported districts.

The Universities( Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi; School of Public Health, University of Ghana; University of Cape Coast; University for Development Studies; 

Output 4.         Strengthened advocacy and awareness of reproductive health, adolescent sexual and reproductive health reproductive rights and gender at the national level and in UNFPA-supported districts

Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, MLGRD; District Assemblies; The Media; Faith Based Organisations, FBOs; FIDA; GAC; SWAA; AWLA; Commonwealth Initiative; Ghana Actors Guild; Abantu for Development;  WISE and Ark Foundation; Judicial Service; WAJU;

POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Output 1:         Availability of timely and reliable age-, gender-, and spatially disaggregated population and reproductive health data at the national level and in UNFPA-supported districts.

Ghana Statistical Service  (GSS); National Population Council (NPC); Regional Institute of Population Studies (RIPS); Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER);
National  Development Planning Commission (NDPC);

Output 2:         Strengthened institutional and technical capacity to integrate population, reproductive health and gender concerns into development planning and budgeting at the national level and in UNFPA-supported districts.

ILGS; RIPS; KNUST; PIP; UCC-POP/FLE; UDS;  ISSER; IAS; ISODEC; IEA; Third World Network, ISODEC, TWN; Parliamentary Committee on Population and Development; Birth and Death Registry; MLGRD and DAs;

GENDER  AND EMPOWERMENT

Output 1:         Strengthened capacity of national and local institutions, including the government, parliament.

Ministry of Women and Children (MOWAC); the Department of Women; Ark Foundation; FIDA; AWLA, WABA; Parliamentary Caucus/Committees on Population and Development, Gender and Children, and Women; Abantu for Development; Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service; Min of Manpower, Youth and Employment; the Universities; the Media; GHANET; SWAA; GAWW, ING; Families Together Ghana, GAPVOD; GAC; DAs, Traditional and Religious Leaders and so on.

 
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