Ghana and the US Peace Corps mark 65 years of partnership
Ghana’s Ministry of Health, together with the US Peace Corps, marked 65 years of partnership between Ghana and the United States. The organization has operated in the country since 1961 and has contributed to projects in health care, community development, education, and agriculture.
As MyJoyOnline reports, Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Health, Grace Ayensu-Danquah, said that in 1961 the country became the first to host Peace Corps volunteers. This took place as part of an initiative by then-US President John F. Kennedy and Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah.
Contribution to health care
According to Ayensu-Danquah, volunteers worked with local communities and institutions, helping to respond to locally identified needs, share expertise, and strengthen communities’ capacity to independently address development challenges.
She specifically noted the Peace Corps’ involvement in Ghana’s fight against Guinea worm disease. Together with health authorities and communities, volunteers supported surveillance, case detection, safe water-use practices, and awareness-raising work. The last case of the disease in Ghana was recorded in 2010, and in 2015 the country was certified free of the disease.
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The Peace Corps also participated in programs on water supply, sanitation and hygiene, maternal, newborn and child health, nutrition, adolescent health, disease prevention, and community health education.
Nearly 5,000 volunteers
US Chargé d’Affaires Rolf Olson said that nearly 5,000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Ghana since 1961. Currently, 52 volunteers are serving in the country. According to him, volunteers have worked in all 16 regions of Ghana, implementing programs in agriculture, education, and health care.
Since 2022, volunteers have completed 102 projects in water supply, sanitation and hygiene, and have also helped build or upgrade more than 20 health facilities, including clinics, CHPS compounds, and maternity wards, Olson said.
Ghana’s Ministry of Health is also developing a structured volunteer program as part of the government’s free primary health care initiative. It is intended to give qualified health workers awaiting placement in the public health system an opportunity to work in communities with insufficient access to services and receive payments.
