Ghana
Ghana Health Service
Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in the health sector and one or more of the following criteria:
• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field
OR
• 5 years' professional work experience
All candidates who meet the required skills are encouraged to apply. Additional skills that may make you a more competitive candidate include:
Experience with public health initiatives, such as water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), youth clubs, maternal/newborn/child health, sexual and reproductive health, nutrition, malaria prevention, or counseling.
Experience in project development, planning, and management.
Leadership skills.
Volunteers are placed in rural communities in Ghana. Some Volunteers will live in self-contained concrete houses while others may have one or two rooms inside a family compound or nurse’s quarters. While subject to change based on programmatic needs, Volunteers are currently placed in the following regions: Greater Accra, Bono, Eastern, Northern, Oti, and Volta.
Expect a slower pace of life both professionally and socially. To gain the acceptance, respect and confidence of Ghanaians, it is essential that you dress and conduct yourself in a manner which conforms to Ghanaian standards and is expected of professional development workers.
Serving in rural communities requires much flexibility, and Volunteers should not expect U.S. standards regarding facilities, space and privacy in living conditions. Peace Corps will provide additional items such as a cook stove, water filter and money for a bicycle. Cell phone service will be available in most small towns and the postal system is improving but is slow. Your diet may consist of a starchy staple prepared from rice, corn, yam, cassava or plantain, served with a spicy soup or stew which can be made from groundnuts (peanuts), tomatoes, vegetables, beans and possibly some meat or fish. While it is possible to accommodate a vegetarian diet, it will take extra effort on the part of the Volunteer.
None
Health
Yes
Ghana
24
Yes
PCV
No
Promote balanced nutrition among pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and children under 5.
Promote improved hygiene practices and water/sanitation options to improve WASH practices and reduce diarrheal diseases.
Facilitate sanitation and health education campaigns to increase health literacy and encourage hygienic practices.
Support community-based health planning and services.
Facilitate youth life skills clubs.
You may also work on additional projects that meet the community’s interests and priorities, such as working with women’s groups on income generation activities and co-leading health and wellness camps.
As a Community Health Promoter, you will be trained to support healthy practices in Ghana, including but not limited to nutrition, maternal and child health, social and behavior change, and water and sanitation hygiene. Peace Corps/Ghana will teach you Twi, Ewe, Dagbani, or Ghanaian Sign Language to help you comfortably live in and connect with the community.
After 10 weeks of training, you will move to a rural community where you will collaborate with health workers, mothers, youth, and community members to organize and advance health-related project activities. You will work with the community to assess the local needs and develop solutions based on their priorities.
Experience living in a rural community and collaboratively developing solutions within a new culture.
Learn a local language and develop lifelong friendships through rich cultural exchange.
Receive intensive training on participatory development, project management, facilitation, and cultural agility.
Only heterosexual couples can be accepted for this program.
Each person must apply separately and must qualify for a position in either the same or a different sector than their partner.
Cross-sector couples will live with different host families who may reside in different communities during training. Cross-sector couples may see each other for joint-sector training days or on the weekends but neither are guaranteed.
Couples who are selected for the same sector will live together but work with different local partners, which may be in the same community or in neighboring communities (not more than 30 minutes apart).
As the preeminent international service organization of the United States, the Peace Corps sends Americans with a passion for service abroad to work with communities and create lasting change. Volunteers develop sustainable solutions to address challenges in Education, Health, Economic Development, Agriculture, Environment and Youth Development. Through their Peace Corps experiences, Volunteers gain a unique cultural understanding and a lifelong commitment to service that positions them to succeed in today's global economy. Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, more than 240,000 Americans of all ages have served in 142 countries worldwide.
