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| Project Name: | Ghana Communicating and Marketing for Health |
| Project Description: |
This project forms the Behavior Change Communication (BCC) component of USAID health strategy for Ghana. This project will work as a catalyst to support BCC in all of Ghana and the other three USAID funded projects working jointly. The project will assess existing BCC methodologies and capacity in Ghana and where necessary build the capacity by bringing new methods and training to ensure a cohesive and sustainable approach. USAID has funded four projects in the health sector for a period of 5-years, which are all interconnected. Through this project CARE and its partners is focusing on the BCC component. Other projects will focus on health service delivery and capacity, HIV/Aids and community health promotion. All projects are expected to work in synergy and collaboration is paramount. The project is intended to work in 27 of Ghana' s most vulnerable districts and the project area has yet to be determined. It is clear however that the use of media promotion and marketing campaigns for condom use and mosquito nets will be of a national nature.
The Project Team will deliver change, implementing aggressive communications, and marketing programs to achieve improvements in reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and child health programs. The project will achieve these results by focusing on a limited number of interventions each year, addressing key problems in each of the four technical areas, and by making sure that interventions are behavior-focused and tailored to specific segments of the target population while providing support. One key objective will be the marketing of condoms, mosquito nets, and other health products and reducing the level of subsidy in the system to ensure long-term sustainability. While a marketing approach will be used, CARE will employ its grass roots expertise to increase knowledge, change and demand at the community level. Another component of CARE's work is action research in voluntary counseling and treatment (VCT) for HIV/Aids. CARE will pilot two non-medically based VCT centers as alternative avenues for Ghanaians seeking confidential advice.
The project will emphasize sustainable change, by building long-term and sustainable capacity in communications and marketing at the community level and in Ghanaian health and communication institutions. The project recognizes that sustainable change requires support at all levels of society, and must be founded on leadership of Ghanaian institutions and professionals. The project will engage a host of new actors and institutions from the education and private sectors, and create electronic networks to facilitate communication among them. The project expand and strengthen advocacy and participatory change methods among NGOs and community partners, and in so doing will make a significant contribution not only to improved health practices but to the creation of supportive social norms and building of civil society. |
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