The Community Outreach Project holds community health screening days in disadvantaged communities.  During these days, AFAWI in partnership with Ghana Health Services, provides free screening for communicable diseases and counseling and information sessions on health services available to community members, as public health care in Ghana is difficult to access, especially in the rural areas.  

 

The reasons for the difficulties for the community to access health services are:

 

1. Lack of knowledge of health care programs in the communities,

2. Lack of basic health care facilities within the communities,

3. Distance to health care facilities (lack of good roads, electricity, facility building and lack of funding); and

4. Lack of income to afford basic first aid materials or medicines.

 

It remains both a national and social issue , as in many communities citizens continuously die of minor injuries and illnesses, that could easily be healed with something as simple as basic first aid or medicine from the pharmacy.

 

The Government of Ghana therefore, through the Ghana Health Services (GHS), introduced the Community Base Health Planning Services (CHPS) in 2000. CHPS are small health facilities where community members can access a community based nurse and be treated for basic ailments, receive a session on family planning. Not all communities have a CHPS building facility, but all communities have community based nurses available to all citizens.  Unfortunately many citizens are not aware of the nurses in their communities or the nurses do not have the necessary materials to treat basic ailments.

 

This project hopes to help communities be aware of the services available to citizens and be aware of potential communicable diseases individuals are infected with, so they can receive the proper care and counseling if necessary and are educated on how the spread of the disease further could be prevented.