Suprudo

  • Overview
  • Medical
  • Water
  • Business
  • Public Health

Overview

Suprudo is located in the Central Region of Ghana.  People in Suprudo are primarily dedicated to farming, animal raising, and trading. There is a kindergarten, primary school, and junior-high in the community. Suprudo has a CHPS clinic directly in community.  At the beginning of Global Brigades’s partnership with Suprudo, standpipes provided around 20% of homes with access to safe drinking water and only about 2% of homes had their own toilet facility. This meant that most families relied on the few public toilets or practiced open defecation. The homes in Suprudo are typically made up of mud, bricks or blocks. There are community microfinance groups in Suprudo that provide savings and loans services to members. The community expressed that their top needs are a household water connection, improved toilet facilities, and an improved health facility.

District: Ekumfi

Region: Central

Homes : 260
Population : 763
Water System : Yes-- in need of improvements
Community Bank : Yes
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : Yes
Midwife at clinic : No
Homes with toilet facility : 18%
Education : Up to junior high
Nearest GB lodging facility : Weda Lodge

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS:

There are two types of public health clinics available to rural Ghanaians: Health Centers and Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds. Health Centers serve large geographic areas within a district and are staffed by physicians. CHPS compounds serve small clusters of communities and are staffed by live-in nurses. The nurses provide basic services and, if capacity allows, they conduct home visits to families in the communities. 

Even with this coverage, it is important to note that medications, equipment, and essential infrastructure are often not available in these clinics and the physician density in Ghana remains around 0.2 physicians per 1,000 people. According to the World Health Organization, there should be a minimum of 2.3 physicians per 1,000 people to qualify a country as having adequate access to medical attention.

Suprudo has a CHPS Compound within their community. During their initial communications with Global Brigades, community members expressed that the top three most common illnesses are malaria, helminthiasis, and anemia.

173

Volunteers

2079

Patient Consultations

340

Vision Screenings

30

Health Educational Workshops

CLINIC IMPROVEMENT

Suprudo CHPS Compound

When Suprudo first began their partnership with Global Brigades, the conditions of the CHPS Compound were preventing the nurses from providing adequate services to their patients. The nurses expressed that their top needs were: washrooms for patients, delivery equipment, a Polytank stand, and electricity. Global Brigades began working with local contractors in 2019 to improve the infrastructure and equipment of the CHPS Compound.

Global Brigades achieved an agreement with the Ghana Ministry of Health to ensure that a midwife is assigned to the CHPS compound once the maternity ward is equipped. This additional staff and equipment will allow the nurses to perform more community outreach and provide higher-quality care to patients.

HEALTH INSURANCE ENROLLMENT

GB Ghana donating a motorcycle to the Ekumfi National Health Insurance office, 2019.

Another key factor for health care access in Ghana is insurance. Ghana’s National Health Insurance plan offers universal coverage, but few rural community members are actively enrolled. 

A common reason community members cited for not enrolling was the inconvenience and cost of traveling to the district insurance office. So GB Ghana supported the Ekumfi District National Health Insurance office with a motorcycle so that agents could travel directly to the communities and conduct mobile enrollments. During Medical Brigades, community members are educated about the benefits of health insurance and are encouraged to enrol (or re-enrol) in the National Health Insurance Plan when the agents visit.

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Medical Brigade clinics are hosted in Suprudo‘s CHPS Compound. Volunteers assist local doctors and community nurses to serve patients at each station of the clinic. Each day of the brigade, an average of 6 educational charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

  • AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 436
  • NEARBY COMMUNITIES SERVED: Obidan, Potwabin, and Hinii

MEDICAL VOLUNTEERS IN SUPRUDO:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
London, Ontario Medical Brigade May 2014 47 New Jersey Institute of Technology Medical Brigade March 2018 22
SUNY Stony Brook Medical Brigade June 2018 30 Seton Hall University & St. John’s University Medical Brigade May 2019 20
King’s College London June 2022 27 Tulane University January 2023 17
University of Illinois at Chicago May 2024 10

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

SUPRUDO’S WATER CHALLENGE

A child fetches water from a borehole in Suprudo

Prior to their partnership with Global Brigades, Suprudo had a borehole and standpipe water system. The system did not have a distribution network to individual houses. To retrieve water for household use, people – most often women and children – would make multiple trips each day to one of the public standpipes carrying heavy containers. The average round-trip walking time to a standpipe was 15 minutes, not including the time spent waiting in line.

1701

Project Beneficiaries

2

Standpipes constructed

SUPRUDO’S WATER SOLUTION

A newly constructed standpipe in Suprudo

In 2019, the GB WASH Team and technical staff from the Ghana Water Company carried out a water needs assessment, estimated demand, mapped out water points, and designed public standpipes to improve the water distribution network. This was followed by the construction of 2 public standpipes strategically designed with 2 spouts to increase the number of people who can fetch water at the same time.

Water Brigaders installing a household water connection for a home in Ekumpoano

In addition to public standpipes, future Water Brigades will support the installation of household water connections for interested families. Having a household connection means these families no longer have to make the trip to a standpipe every time they need to fetch water.

In the interest of sustainability, after the project is complete, a community Water Council will be selected and trained on water treatment and system maintenance, administration, and operation, so they can continue managing the water system.

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

SUPRUDO’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Rural communities in Ghana face a number of structural obstacles when it comes to economic growth. Access to credit is limited by physical barriers in transportation and exclusion from formal financial institutions. If community members aren’t able to access these institutions, their only option is to solicit credit from loan sharks, who charge exorbitant interest rates. Additionally, maintaining savings is not a common practice in rural communities in Ghana. The main source of income in Suprudo is farming, animal raising, and petty trading.

41

Savings Accounts Opened

66

Loans Disbursed

$6,844

Capital Invested

SUPRUDO’S MICRO-FINANCE SOLUTION

GB Ghana Business Program Manager, Shiella, consults with an MHope Group in Ekumpoano

The GB Business Program works with Microfin Rural Bank to stimulate the local economy by organizing community volunteers around a community bank which is entirely owned and operated by its members. Focusing on providing access to credit and savings for their fellow community members, its volunteers are tasked with socializing the community bank and managing the funds. Microfin and the GB Business Program provide training and support to help strengthen these community banks and stimulate the flow of capital within the community. These financial services are especially beneficial for subsistence farmers and entrepreneurs, who can invest more heavily in their production with a loan, pay back the loan after sales, and generate an income with any excess.

Suprudo has 2 Microfin groups: Kyere Wo Do (est. August 2019) and No Jesus (est. Sept 2019). The members of these banks meet weekly to deposit savings and manage loans which are approved by all the bank’s members.

SUPRUDO’S BUSINESS SOLUTION

A young woman sells snacks in Suprudo

In addition to working with the community banks, the Business Program provides support and technical skills in establishing anchor businesses that generate additional capital. The goal is to better integrate isolated communities into the local economy and allow for growth. During this process, interested community members receive training to increase their familiarity with business terminology, develop their business administration skills, and promote innovation and diversification in the types of business ventures they pursue.

The Business Program will start hosting Business Brigades in Suprudo to study the local market in hopes of identifying and developing potential business opportunities for the community as soon as feasible.

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

SUPRUDO’S PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE

GB Ghana WASH Program Manager, Emmanuel, showing off a newly installed toilet!

Many community members in Suprudo lack the resources to make improvements to their household infrastructure. Prior to their partnership with Global Brigades, only 2% of homes in Suprudo had a toilet. With many households situated near the beach, community members frequently practised open defecation, putting them at risk for fecally transmitted diseases and water-borne illnesses. In-home toilets are necessary to improve hygiene practices, prevent contamination and disease, and offer privacy.

243

Volunteers

21

Toilets Installed

81

People Benefitted with PH Infrastructure

15

Public Health Educational Workshops - hours

SUPRUDO’S PUBLIC HEALTH SOLUTION

Public Health Brigaders work to construct a biodigester tank in Suprudo

Global Brigades began working with the Public Health program in Suprudo in November 2019 to construct pour-flush toilets with biodigester tanks in the houses of  community members. In the interest of sustainability, family members are responsible for contributing some materials, such as sand and bricks, as well as contributing food and drink for the masons.

These projects allow community members to avoid preventable diseases and foster improved hygiene and sanitation practices. During their time in Suprudo, Public Health volunteers conduct educational workshops with community members on toilet maintenance and various public health topics.

PUBLIC HEALTH VOLUNTEERS IN SUPRUDO:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
SDI Munich Public Health November 2019 11 Albion College Medical Jan 2020 14
University of San Diego Medical Jan 2020 28 University of Connecticut Medical Jan 2020 38
University of Texas Austin Medical Jan 2020 18 Milwaukee School of Engineering Medical Feb 2020 31
University of Portland Feb 2022 10 Texas A&M University Public Health March 2022 7
Governors State University Public Health May 2022 18 Florida A&M University March 2024 30
University of Prince Edward Island and SUNY Stony Brook May 2024 38

Local Reference Points

View the map to see the closest volunteer lodging facilities, hospitals, and other relevant points of reference.

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