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Assessing the Efficacy of Health Research as a Development Strategy in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. NYU Wagner COHRED Capstone Project - (doc, 733.5 Kb)
Development of innovative North-South research partnerships: overcoming difficulties Learning Brief No 2001/1 Geneva
Evolution of Health Research Essential for Development in Ghana Geneva,
Health Systems 20/20
- How can we act on information we don't know? A study of information and communication needs and use of research information in health policy decisions in Ghana Health Research Unit, Ministry of Health (this document will be available soon)
Identifying capacities: country analysis Ghana and Uganda
MASCOT Country report for Ghana - Dec 2013 Report Summary: Many African countries face a variety of obstacles to improved maternal and child health services. Insufficient data prevents government bodies from implementing health programmes efficiently and effectively, while the high cost of healthcare restricts access to available services. The socio-economic and geographical circumstances of Ghana constrain the fair and equitable delivery of health services, creating a disadvantage for residents of rural communities. Unequal distribution of income, assets and health services within the country have contributed to poverty, low levels of basic health care utilization and limited access to health services amongst certain social groups. The significant differences in infrastructural development between the regions of Ghana have also left many communities economically-deprived. The result is health inequalities. Maternal and Child health inequalities in Ghana are influenced by social determinants including place of residence; ethnicity; occupation; gender; religion; education; and social capital. From the analysis of the Ghana Multi Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS); higher education, high-income occupation or wealth significantly lower the probability of adolescent pregnancy and increases the probabilities of contraception use and skilled birth attendance. Ethnicity and religion also presents significant MCH inequalities. Gender inequalities show an advantage of female children over male children in exclusive breastfeeding for six months. However, under-five male children are more likely than under-five female children to be stunted or receive antibiotics when suspected to have pneumonia. Other MCH inequalities also exist with determinants such as ethnicity and place of residence, in the areas of antenatal and postnatal care. Research plays an important role in addressing MCH inequalities in Ghana. The Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service and the Research and Development Division, as well as other health agencies and stakeholders play different roles in governance, research, policy and programme formulation, service delivery, funding, monitoring and evaluation. Policies and programmes designed to tackle MCH inequalities provide guidelines on health financing, equity, access and quality of care. Besides the four national health research centres which dominate the research landscape in Ghana, some academic institution and private research centres also investigate MCH issues of national interest. MCH research attracts considerable funding to provide evidence-based solutions to MCH needs in Ghana. Although constrained by inadequate infrastructure and human resource, the national health research system has chalked many successes in producing explicit evidence for addressing disease prevention, equity of access to maternal and child health services and quality of care. Many MCH policies and programmes are informed by research evidence generated from the national health research centres as well as from international policy frameworks. Reports with high impact delivery from organizations such as the WHO, UNICEF, DFID and UNFPA have also informed some policies, programmes and strategic documents currently in use in Ghana. Funding for health research remains a major challenge for the national health research system, as over 90% of funding is provided by external donors. Consequently, many health research projects are based on donor prerogative and not always on national priority. - (pdf, 1084.73 Kb)

Ghana