Program Intervention Areas
Quality Health For All Program
A.R.E's quality health for all program aims at promoting access to quality health care, health information and the adoption of healthy lifestyles in rural Ghana. The program focuses on promoting HIV and malaria education, school hygiene, reproductive health. The Health Education Awareness and Literature (HEAL) project is a successful intervention under the Quality Health for All program. HEAL has been running for six years now in over 90 communities and 60 rural schools."HEAL" project
The Health Education, Awareness and Literature (HEAL) project adopts a practical approach towards HIV/AIDS and other social health problems based on the principle of capacity building and grassroots participation in mapping out strategies and executing a local action against HIV/AIDS, drug abuse and teenage pregnancy at the school and community level. Under the program, community Health clubs (CHCs) and School Health Clubs (SHCs) are formed and made operational to spearhead HIV peer education in schools and communities. Community Health Education Action Plans (CHEAPs) and School Health Education Action Plans (SHEAP) are developed after PLA sessions HIV , which serve as a local blue print for communities and students in their advocacy campaigns against HIV/AIDS.
As part of the HEAL project, A.R.E is currently managing the Ghana AIDS Commission's Multi Sector HIV Partnerships intervention in nine districts in the Central Region. The project, involves grassroots capacity building and advocacy on HIV with a focus on prevention, Voluntary Counseling and Testing and Promoting Safer sexual lifestyles. Ghana AIDS Commission is providing 100,000 GHC for the project in 2010, after committing 50,000 GHC in the second half of 2009.
The Health Education, Awareness and Literature (HEAL) project adopts a practical
approach towards HIV/AIDS and other social health problems based on the principle
of capacity building and grassroots participation in mapping out strategies and
executing a local action against HIV/AIDS, drug abuse and teenage pregnancy at
the school and community level. Under the program, community Health clubs (CHCs)
and School Health Clubs (SHCs) are formed and made operational to spearhead HIV
peer education in schools and communities.
Community Health Education Action Plans (CHEAPs) and School Health Education Action Plans (SHEAP) are developed after PLA sessions HIV , which serve as a local blue print for communities and students in their advocacy campaigns against HIV/AIDS. As part of the HEAL project, A.R.E is currently managing the Ghana AIDS Commission's Multi Sector HIV Partnerships intervention in nine districts in the Central Region. The project, involves grassroots capacity building and advocacy on HIV with a focus on prevention, Voluntary Counseling and Testing and Promoting Safer sexual lifestyles. Ghana AIDS Commission is providing 100,000 GHC for the project in 2010, after committing 50,000 GHC in the second half of 2009.
Community Health Education Action Plans (CHEAPs) and School Health Education Action Plans (SHEAP) are developed after PLA sessions HIV , which serve as a local blue print for communities and students in their advocacy campaigns against HIV/AIDS. As part of the HEAL project, A.R.E is currently managing the Ghana AIDS Commission's Multi Sector HIV Partnerships intervention in nine districts in the Central Region. The project, involves grassroots capacity building and advocacy on HIV with a focus on prevention, Voluntary Counseling and Testing and Promoting Safer sexual lifestyles. Ghana AIDS Commission is providing 100,000 GHC for the project in 2010, after committing 50,000 GHC in the second half of 2009.
A.R.E- Internship Project
The A.R.E internship project currently operates under the Quality Health For All program. A.R.E. has over the past seven years been collaborating with the Warwick University in U.K to organize an internship program for Second year medical students to come and work on HI/AIDS projects in
rural communities and clinics in the Central Region. Since 2003, A.R.E has hosted 35 interns who successfully worked in over 35 communities and five clinics in Ghana.Citizens and Governance
The A.R.E citizens and governance program is premised on the assumption that one effective way of ensuring development of rural communities is by empowering grassroots Civil Society Organization and citizens participate in democratic decision making and hold government accountable for their social, economic and political rights. A.R.E believes that governance since has very much to do with how decisions are made and how resources are allocated and utilized, the active participation of citizens in the governance process will provide an opportunity to influence decisions and resources in their favour.
The program aims to mobilize Civil Society Organizations in support of and participate in the governance process at the local level and strengthen platforms for CSOs, policy makers and Community member interaction in pursuit of participatory democracy. It also focuses on enhancing the capacity of CSOs and community members in advocating and lobbying governments to pursue pro poor policies to enhance their economic lives. The active participation of local communities in economic decision making, accountability and transparency processes (Public Expenditure tracking, budget hearing, tax hearing etc.) is
paramount to the A.R.E Citizens and Governance program. The A.R.E Citizens and Governance program has been supported by the Commonwealth Foundation (U.K) and the World Bank (Ghana)
HIPC Watch
A.R.E in partnership with the SEND foundation of West Africa mobilized and facilitated rural communities to track the utilization of the HIPC funds in Ghana. Grassroots CSO's were resourced to monitor expenditures and work on education, health and sanitation projects funded by the HIPC initiative at the community and district level, after which outcomes were used to engage government on the need for judicious utilization of HIPC funds the execution of shoddy infrastructure contracts by contractors engaged by District Assemblies.. The outcomes of HIPC watch project was a useful input in Civil Society's position on AID Effectiveness during the Aid Effectiveness Forum in Accra, 2009.
A.R.E- Education For All Program
Promoting access to quality basic education remains a core mandate of A.R.E. A.R.E's EFA program aims at advocating for the removal of inequities in the provision of quality education and the promotion of universal access to basic education in rural communities. The program advocates the implementation of equitable policies in education service delivery, focusing on marginalized populations, including rural children, girls and the disabled. The program also aims at strengthening the capacity of local communities to advocate quality basic education by participating and influencing the allocation and distribution of education resources as well as monitoring the implementation of education plans and budgets at the local level. This includes influencing the distribution of teachers, Teaching and Learning Materials, and school infrastructure.
AICQUBE Project
The Advocacy for Increased Community Participation in Quality Basic Education-AICQUBE project is a component of the A.R.E-EFA program intervention. The project has been running since 2005 in the Twifo Hemang Lower Denkyira District of the Central Region. AICQUBE combines advocacy and service delivery to curb child labour in cocoa growing communities, promote transparency and accountability in school governance and promote full access to quality basic education.
The first three years f the project was funded by the Commonwealth Education Fund (U.K), a consortium Comprising DfID, ActionAid (UK), Oxfam (GB), Save the Child (U.K) and Cadburys Sweppes (U.K)., after which the District Assembly in partnership with A.R.E has sustained funding till date. AICQUBE has empowered School Management Committees to track the utilization of the Capitation Grant and take part in the preparation education budgets at the local and community level.
A major success of the project is the Rural Education Volunteers component, which recruited 36 secondary school leavers from 16 deprived communities, trained them and placed them in their own communities to assist in teaching, since there were no teachers. The first batch of about 24 teachers recruited in 2005, under AICQUBE 1, have graduated as trained teachers under a sandwich program (Untrained Teacher Training Diploma in Basic Education-UTTDBE)
This program has been supported by A.R.E and the Twifo Hemang Lower Denkyira District Assembly. The project is currently being replicated in remote parts of the country, where teachers refuse postings.
The first three years f the project was funded by the Commonwealth Education Fund (U.K), a consortium Comprising DfID, ActionAid (UK), Oxfam (GB), Save the Child (U.K) and Cadburys Sweppes (U.K)., after which the District Assembly in partnership with A.R.E has sustained funding till date. AICQUBE has empowered School Management Committees to track the utilization of the Capitation Grant and take part in the preparation education budgets at the local and community level.
A major success of the project is the Rural Education Volunteers component, which recruited 36 secondary school leavers from 16 deprived communities, trained them and placed them in their own communities to assist in teaching, since there were no teachers. The first batch of about 24 teachers recruited in 2005, under AICQUBE 1, have graduated as trained teachers under a sandwich program (Untrained Teacher Training Diploma in Basic Education-UTTDBE)
This program has been supported by A.R.E and the Twifo Hemang Lower Denkyira District Assembly. The project is currently being replicated in remote parts of the country, where teachers refuse postings.
Adzesua Mu Nkontabuo (PAGE) PROJECT
PROMOTING ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNANCE IN EDUCATION (PAGE)
PROJECT
The Promoting Accountable Governance in Education, locally called ‘’Adezesua Mu Nkontabuo’’ is a one year project being implemented by Action for Rural Education in the Mfantsiman Municipality with funding from the Partnership for Transparency Fund (USA). The project conceptualizes the effective participation of SMC/PTA’s in the development, implementation and monitoring of education budgets (S-PIP) and in the allocation and distribution of education resources especially textbooks and exercise books as a means of promoting transparency and accountability in education resource allocation, distribution and utilization. Education Resource accountability is complimented with efficient record keeping regulations at the stores department of the Ghana Education (GES) Service and at the school.
