Accessing health rights
In November 2011, African Initiatives launched a new four year programme funded by Comic Relief for “Accessing Health Rights in Northern Ghana” totalling. This project follows on from a small scale two year project to improve women’s rights to sexual reproductive health services funded by the Body Shop that started in 2010.
What’s the issue?
Northern Ghana is a patrilinial society and there is widespread discrimination against women. Widowhood rites are widely practiced whereby women are routinely brutalised, humiliated, disinherited, sexually abused and forced to produce children for male relatives. Females are considered the property of fathers and husbands. Women are excluded from decision-making even in relation to their own welfare including reproductive health whereby women do not make decisions about contraception or birth spacing or where they deliver their children.
A National Health Insurance Scheme was introduced to the three northern regions of Ghana in 2005 that gives people access to basic health care for an annual registration fee and that covers most common illnesses. However, in the north, less than 50% of people are registered. This indicates people’s lack of understanding of the scheme and the perceived difficulties of using it.
What is African Initaitves doing?
Working with our long term partner the Community Self Reliance Centre, this new funding will improve reproductive health outcomes for women and children, focusing on women of reproductive age and children under 5. It will increase registration with the NHIS from 50% to 75% in seven districts and will improve the quality of service it provides.The project will raise women’s voice, challenge traditional beliefs and provide information on the law and rights which will result in improved well-being for women. It is anticipated that by the end of four years, women will experience: fewer birth complications and infant death; an increase in giving birth in hospital attended by health professionals; increased pre and post-natal care; as well as a reduction in degrading practices against them.