Arzoo

__** Humanitarian Campaigns in Ghana **__ Over the recent years, Ghana has shown great strides in its development as a sovereign nation. Ghana’s decentralized government grants its citizens with many liberties, including freedom of press, and has decreased the nation’s inflation with its economic reforms. Together with the various NGO’s working in Ghana, government officials and volunteers are working hard to improve the lifestyles’ of Ghana’s people. There are numerous organizations working in Ghana, three of them being The Mustard Seed Foundation, WHO Ghana and REVSODEP.

Working since November of 1996, The Mustard Seed Foundation works to improve the lives of the needy. Their goals are to help children learn and grow into productive adults and to engage the unemployed members of the society in “sustainable development” programs. Their programs can be categorized by two different purposes. Some of their programs work to fulfill the children’s basic needs of housing, nutrition, and clothing, as well as to give them scholarships. Other programs by this NGO seek to people in Ghana how to self-finance. By teaching people how to farm for cashews and raise animals, the members of the foundation are giving members of the population a way to sustain their own community centers, schools and libraries. Through their programs, the organization strives to enhance the lives of the younger generation.

The World Health Organization has played an active role in the worldwide improvement of healthcare. In Ghana, they have eleven programs that focus on their specific priorities in regard to the needs of Ghana’s population. They have programs that work to control HIV/AIDS and malaria. Other programs focus on the transportation of medications, and some focus on family health. They are also working on a nutrition program. Food is an issue in Ghana, especially up north, as the combination of the poor soil, the low and unpredictable rainfall, and the subsistence farming practice cause a low agricultural yield. They are also working on a program to increase the accessibility of universal healthcare. Due to their works in the field of healthcare, WHO is one of the organizations responsible for the drop in HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the population, which went from 2.2% in 2006 to 1.9% mid-January of 2009.

REVSODEP stands for Rural Education Volunteer And Social Development Program. Based in the northern region of the country, the organization’s main goal is to promote a good education in the rural regions of Ghana. Through various visits to the communities in these areas, the organization learnt that the education of individuals and the social interactions of all the community’s members were very low. Through what they learnt, their programs focus on teaching the communities about good general and reproductive health, encouraging more social interactions between people, and promoting conversation within the community to encourage democracy. Through their work, REVSODEP volunteers aid the development and the enhancement of lifestyles of people in rural communities.

Thus, through the work of these three organizations as well as the efforts of many others, Ghana’s standards of living have been gradually improving. Through REVSODEP and The Mustard Seed Foundation’s works in social welfare, and WHO’s work in healthcare, Ghana has become a better place to live. Though Ghana still has obstacles to overcome in the future, such as its high mortality rate of children under five years old (111 per 1000 live births), and the education issues, Ghana’s future looks promising.

http://www.usaid.gov/gh/ http://www.geocities.com/themustardseedghana/ http://www.geocities.com/themustardseedghana/profile.htm http://www.who.int/countries/gha/areas/en/ http://www.who.int/countries/gha/areas/essential_drug_and_medicine/en/index.html http://www.who.int/countries/gha/areas/tap/en/index.html http://www.revsodepghana.org/newsite/
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