Ghana

Innovation leads to progress

Freedom from Hunger created "Freedom from Hunger Ghana" in the 1980s and helped it become an independent partner organization in the mid-1990s. FFH-Ghana now helps an array of local banks reach out to very poor, rural communities with sustainable microfinance and education services. In Ghana, as in other West African countries, women use their loans to start simple, home-based businesses that increase incomes and help them feed their families. In fact, the most common enterprises involve processing bulk foodstuffs into common meals—a practical choice, as it earns women a daily income and makes the most of their time since they already cook for their families. Education topics for women in Ghana include nutrition, breastfeeding, diarrhea prevention and treatment, immunizations, malaria and family planning.

Credit with Education is truly transforming lives in Ghana. Read the story of Dorcas Aidoo, a long-time Credit with Education member whose life has truly changed.

Impact Study

Ghana is the site of one of Freedom from Hunger’s most important studies on the impact of Credit with Education. In 1999, Freedom from Hunger, along with the Program in International Nutrition at the University of California, Davis, published a multi-year study, using 1993 as a baseline and 1996 as a follow-up, on the effectiveness of the Credit with Education Program in Ghana. Funded mostly by the Thrasher Research Fund and the nutrition division of UNICEF/New York, the study focused on the impact of Credit with Education on increasing women’s economic capacity, health/nutrition practices, and feelings of empowerment within the home and community.

Not only did 90% of the 1996 participants feel their income level had “increased” since their participation in the program but also, positive impacts in mothers’ health and their nutrition practices were seen both in participant and non-participant households within the community. The Credit with Education program was also found to effectively educate mothers on the importance of breastfeeding, and the ways to prevent and successfully treat diarrhea. Although women reported they felt no more empowered within the home, they did report a positive impact in community event participation. Most importantly, the impact study found a reduced vulnerability to the ‘hungry season.’ The proven success of Freedom from Hunger’s Credit with Education program has encouraged the continual implementation and expansion of the program.

Malaria Initiative

Malaria kills over one million people per year, most of them children and pregnant women. The Malaria Initiative uses a variety of educational methods along with subsidized prevention techniques and medication to provide relief and solutions to this harsh disease. Because most women are unable to read or write, the initiative uses skits, songs and role-play to provide women with education on prevention strategies, symptoms and treatments of malaria. Freedom from Hunger has also worked with manufacturers to distribute subsidized insecticide-treated bednets (about $4 each) and anti-malarial drugs. Most importantly, because the surplus earnings on the women's loans support the cost of operating the program, the Malaria Initiative is a long-term sustainable program, supported by local credit unions and banks.

Currently, a one-year impact study, funded by GlaxoSmithKline and carried out in partnership with the Noguchi Institute in Accra, Ghana, is being conducted to test the effectiveness of the Malaria Initiative on improving the prevention, early detection and treatment of malaria in Credit with Education participants compared to non-participants. The results are will be published in mid-2006.

MicroBusiness for Health

MicroBusiness for Health, now being piloted in Ghana, is one of the most innovative services ever to be developed for the very poor. The approach uses a door-to-door or party-sales approach to selling basic consumer health products that have the power to save lives but are scarce found in rural villages. Freedom from Hunger trains entrepreneurial women to work as friendly neighborhood sales ladies, called HealthKeepers or Mamasantés ("Mama-health"), and provides them with a selection of simple but powerful products that protect family health. These products include insecticide-treated mosquito nets, oral rehydration solution, water treatment methods, bandages and other basic, low-cost items. HealthKeepers are also trained to provide advice on how and when to use the products to ensure effectiveness. Learn more about MicroBusiness for Health.