Ghana Deploys Community Health Workers to Support Free Primary Healthcare Programme
REACH initiative will recruit and deploy 2,300 community health workers across four regions. Programme supports Ghana's Free Primary Healthcare policy and community-based health system. Initiative is backed by Italy and implemented through the Ghana Health Service and Ghana Red Cross Society. Ghana will deploy 2,300 community health workers under a. . .
REACH initiative will recruit and deploy 2,300 community health workers across four regions. Programme supports Ghana's Free Primary Healthcare policy and community-based health system. Initiative is backed by Italy and implemented through the Ghana Health Service and Ghana Red Cross Society. Ghana will deploy 2,300 community health workers under a new initiative aimed at strengthening frontline healthcare services and supporting the country's Free Primary Healthcare policy. The Resilient and Empowered African Community Health (REACH) programme, launched by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS), will run from 2026 to 2027 and focus on expanding access to preventive healthcare, disease surveillance, health promotion and referral services at community level. According to GHS Director-General Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, the workers will be deployed primarily in the Volta, Western and Ashanti regions, with activities integrated into Ghana's existing health reporting and referral systems. The programme seeks to strengthen the country's community-based healthcare network by bringing basic health services closer to households, particularly in underserved and hard-to-reach communities. The initiative builds on Ghana's long-standing Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) programme, which operates through more than 7,000 CHPS zones nationwide and serves as the backbone of primary healthcare delivery. While Ghana has expanded healthcare access significantly over the past two decades, disparities in the availability of health workers and essential services remain, especially in rural areas. The REACH programme is funded by the Italian government through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and receives technical support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Ghana is among several African countries participating in the initiative, alongside countries such as the Central African Republic. The deployment comes as Ghana advances its Free Primary Healthcare agenda, which seeks to strengthen preventive care and reduce pressure on hospitals by expanding services at the community level. By investing in a larger frontline workforce, authorities aim to improve health outcomes through earlier interventions, stronger disease surveillance and greater community outreach. By Cynthia Ebot Takang