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GhanaHope for African Children Initiative became operational in Ghana in April 2003. The partnership is made up of international and national non-governmental organisations, community-based organisations, faith-based organisations, traditional authority and youth groups. Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA), CARE, Centre for Community Studies, Action and Development (CENCOSAD), Plan Ghana, Ghana Conference of Religions for Peace (GCRP) and World Vision are HACI Ghana’s core partners. Since HIV/AIDS-related issues cannot be adequately addressed by any single intervention, multiples interventions are championed by HACI Ghana to respond to the wide range of needs of children, their families and communities. Poverty, streetism, child labor, child trafficking, domestic violence, gender discrimination and expectations, early marriages and female-genital mutilation have been identified as factors that contribute to the vulnerability of children in Ghana. Those infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS face double jeopardy as the stigma and discrimination associated to the disease render them more vulnerable. HACI Ghana encourages stakeholders to implement advocacy that would help the society to examine its values, reflect on its attitudes towards those affected or infected by HIV/AIDS, to reduce stigma and discrimination, to effect policy changes that would bring relief to vulnerable children and their families and to ensure that children’s future is brighter than their past. As families and communities come under severe economic stress to deal with the ramifications of HIV/AIDS, children are more likely to miss enrolling in school, become more vulnerable to missing school days and more likely to be caring for sick parents during school hours. The stresses also mean little food on the table. Furthermore, cost of healthcare becomes prohibitive. HACI Ghana thus supports implementing partners to make accessible to vulnerable children basic services like education, medical attention and life skills. In addition, HACI Ghana facilitates capacity building of community-based groups, faith-based organisations, policy makers, traditional authorities, service providers, and other stakeholders with a view to ensuring better care and support for vulnerable children. In pursuing this, HACI Ghana recognizes that the strengthening of families and communities as first-line care-givers facilitates a supportive and sustainable environment for orphans and other vulnerable children. Various responses are being made by communities, government agencies,
the faith community, non-governmental organisations and donor agencies.
Among the emerging practices that hold great promise in addressing
the crises of orphans and other vulnerable children is training
and capacity building for teachers to address issues pertinent to
vulnerable children; establishment of adolescent-friendly centers;
sexual and reproductive health rights training; succession planning;
promotion of greater involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS
(GIPA) and training of school food vendors to provide nutritious
meals to children. Other promising practices are the harnessing
of the extended family system; involvement of faith-based organizations
and the chieftaincy institution; and promotion of alternative livelihoods.
HACI Ghana is facilitating the documentation of these lessons with
their challenges and successes and commits to wide dissemination
of all lessons learnt. By so doing, HACI Ghana and its partners
facilitate informed responses to HIV/AIDS and issues affecting vulnerable
children. Contact Details for HACI Ghana |
© 2004 HACI. Site developed by Zena.net Services