What We Do

Protection of the sexual and reproductive health rights of citizens is vital for social, cultural and economic development of a country. Access to basic health care services for men, women, children and adolescents is a huge challenge and this has resulted in countless number of preventable diseases and deaths.

Inadequate number of health care facilities, trained doctors and midwives, the geographical dispersion of access to services and little education surrounding sexual reproductive health are some of the issues Ghana is grappling with. Though Ghana made some progress in reducing maternal and infant mortalities, it failed to achieve the MDG goals 4 and 5.

With the coming into force of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Government, CSOs private businesses, research institutions, development partners and other relevant stakeholders must work together to realise SDG 3 targets. Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights is committed to contributing to the realization of SDG 3 as well as those goals that influence the realities and experiences of health care of mother, children and adolescents.

Activities of the ARHR are focused on the following:
The rights of communities, individuals and services providers to demand and secure their sexual reproductive health rights
The role of the Government of Ghana in ensuring access to quality and affordable sexual reproductive healthcare
Mutual recognition and respect for the different roles, values and objectives of our member organizations
Parity in the relationships of the ARHR and its members through constructive dialogue, openness, trust, confidence and consensus
Over the past ten years, ARHR has played a lead role in advocating for improved SRHR.
Some of our key achievements include:
  • Tracking Ghana’s realization of the health MDGs 4, 5 & 6 through projects such as the Cordaid funded ‘Citizens Action and Health’ programme
  • Building successful partnerships with influential NGOs such as the Planned Parenthood Association, Marie Stopes International Ghana and IPAS to address reproductive health issues in Ghana in areas including unsafe abortions, family planning and the establishment of youth-friendly health centres across Ghana
  • Enabling an environment for SRH issues to be discussed by playing a lead role in the conferences and campaigns, such as the national roundtable on Maternal and Child Health
  • Working with key stakeholders in communities such as traditional and religious leaders, women groups, committees and Assembly members
  • Engaging Parliamentarians to be ambassadors and champions of SRH issues
  • Producing and disseminating a documentary on maternal mortality in Ghana, ‘The lights have gone out – another woman dies giving birth’ highlighting the social dimensions of maternal health and the gaps in the health service delivery system
  • Monitoring the use of public funds and resources in the health sectors as well as provisions to benefit the underprivileged under the National Insurance Health Scheme (NHIS)
  • Building the capacity of members and other organizations by supporting, implementing, monitoring projects with a rights-based approach to SHR including:
  • The Alliance for Reproductive Health Programme (ARHP)
  • Citizen’s Action and Health – MDGs Project (CAH-MDGs)
  • Mobilising for RH/HIV Integration in Ghana
  • Improved Reproductive Health Supplies Integration Project
  • M-SHAP
  • Fair Play for Africa
  • Universal Access to Health Care Campaign (UAHCC)
  • STAR Elections – Promoting Health Rights and Accountability in a Peaceful and Fair Election
  • STAR Health – Projecting Citizens’ Voices for Health Accountability