PROJECT
Community-based Health Planning and Services  

In 1999, the Ghana Health Service officially adopted a model for community-based service delivery known as the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) Initiative.

CHPS is based on the successful Navrongo Community Health and Family Planning (CHFP) experimental model, which changes the focus of primary health care and family planning services from clinical care to providing high-quality services at community and doorstep locations. This national program of service delivery change is achieved by forging partnerships between health care providers and the communities they serve.

A Community Health Nurse provides antenatal care in Nkwanta, Ghana. Photo credits: James Phillips

The Population Council has been providing guidance and technical expertise to the CHFP experiment and CHPS since their inceptions. Now, USAID/Ghana has awarded the Council a five-year, $12 million cooperative agreement to continue its assistance to CHPS. Titled CHPS-TA, the program is a collaborative effort between the Council, EngenderHealth, the American College of Nurse/Midwives (ACNM), the Centre for Development of People (CEDEP), and the Ghana Health Service.

CHPS-TA addresses the following needs of the CHPS implementation strategy:

• Strengthening national, regional, district and community level advocacy, leadership, and mobilization for CHPS;

• Developing/improving the skills of community-based health providers and their supervisors in basic health service delivery, referral, surveillance, quality assurance, and supportive supervision;

• Expanding and strengthening pre-service training institutions for CHPS through technical assistance and minor equipment procurement; 

• Strengthening the government’s capacity to expand CHPS, conduct operations research, monitor and evaluate the program, and disseminate lessons learned; and

• Identifying and procuring equipment to support the Government of Ghana’s efforts in program implementation.

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Ghana

Population Council researcher

Wendy Baldwin

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Related Projects

• ExCHANGE: Expanding Community Healthcare Accessibility Network

• Ghana Essential Medicines Initiative (GEMI)

• Scaling Up the Community-based Health Planning and Services Initiative in Nkwanta District

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