AMMREN Engages Journalists On Community Scorecard (CSC) Project in Ghana

The African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN) in conjunction with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) and Partners, engaged journalists on the Community Scorecard (CSC) project in Ghana.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has expanded its national health scorecard platform to include Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) indicators, aiming to bolster community participation and healthcare accountability.

The update integrates the two public health programmes into the broader Community Scorecard initiative. Introduced in 2018, the tool gathers quarterly community feedback to enhance service delivery within Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) zones.

Announcing the expansion during a virtual briefing with journalists and health officials, Project Focal Person Aseye Kpodotsi said the platform strengthens data-driven decision-making.

“The platform allows users to view performance at a glance, with national averages highlighted for Ghana alongside regional averages,” Ms. Kpodotsi said.

The system hosts multiple specialized tools, HIV and TB Scorecard: Tracks selected program indicators to evaluate health service performance.

Malaria Scorecard: Monitors malaria intervention indicators.

RMNCAH Scorecard: Tracks Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health.

Nutrition and NTD Scorecards: Monitor nutrition milestones and Neglected Tropical Diseases.

While routine service-delivery data feeds most scorecards, the Community Scorecard relies directly on nine client-related quality-of-care indicators, including female participation.

Scaling Up and Institutionalization

Led by the Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (PPME) of the GHS, the project is expanding to hospitals and vulnerable groups, training regional, district, and hospital-level staff in scorecard analysis, Integrating the scorecard into the curricula of health training institutions, Securing dedicated budgetary allocations for sustainable, routine implementation, Requiring health managers to provide quarterly support for community-led action plans.

Addressing participants during the engagement, Dr. Charity Binka, Executive Secretary of the African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN), urged journalists to actively amplify community concerns.

“For this process to have a lasting impact, the lessons emerging from communities must be communicated widely, and the voices of citizens must be heard beyond the immediate project locations,” Dr. Binka noted.

She called on reporters to translate technical data into accessible public knowledge and monitor stakeholder commitments.

Story by Michael Yestinu