COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN HEALTH DELIVERY AND MANAGEMENT IN GHANA

Abstract

This paper discusses an investigation on a common and yet illusive phenomenon in development management - community participation. It seeks to explicate the nature and forms of community participation in the public health sector in order to uncover the modes through which communities participate in health care delivery and management. Using case studies of community participation programmes the study concentrates on the three northern regions of Ghana. The findings show that community participation in the public health sector of Ghana is more a means - geared towards the improvement of the health status of communities - rather than for confidence building and empowerment purposes. One key factor limiting community participation in Ghana has been the "inward" looking policies of the Ghana Ministry of Health, which has been pro public sector health to the neglect of non-allopathic and the private-for-profit sectors, for some time now. However, for community participation in health to be genuine and empowering, a Coalition for Participation and Partnerships model together with the strategies for its implementation is proposed.