Ghana’s success story

For over 20 years, Ghana’s CHPS programme has been the focus of the country’s primary health care strategy. It’s a community-centred approach that has transformed maternal and child health in the most inaccessible parts of the country. But how did it come into being, and what has Ghana done differently that has made it so successful? Community-based Health Planning and Services – more commonly referred to by its acronym CHPS (pronounced ‘chips’) – is well known by health systems experts across the world. In rural areas, CHPS is often the first point of contact with government health services. As in many other low- and middle-income countries, Ghana experiences a great number of impediments to improving health and well-being for its citizens. Many people live long distances from the nearest health centre. Access to electricity, mobile-cellular coverage and clean water are a challenge in rural areas. While international standards suggest that the ideal ratio is one doctor per 1 000 people, in Ghana in 2017 there was only one doctor per 8 098 people, and most of these doctors lived in cities and towns. In addition to logistical challenges, there are also local cultural beliefs preventing women from seeking care, even during childbirth.

The bumpy road to better health: How embedded research strengthened health services in Ghana is the story of how an experiment in the north of Ghana changed the health of a nation. How health staff in remote and rural areas are working tirelessly to prevent the deaths of mothers and children. How a radical approach to health research, known as embedded research, has revolutionized how the government delivers health services under difficult circumstances.

Five steps Ghana took to infuse evidence into its primary health care system

Step 1: Believe in research