Healthcare

Access to healthcare plays a vital role in reducing poverty, but in Pokuase, healthcare facilities are very limited and beyond the reach of most families. To help meet the need for healthcare, WomensTrust has launched a new Health Initiative. Partnering with the Pokuase Anglican Health Center, WomensTrust is holding women's health education seminars focused on a variety of women's health issues, including family planning, breast and cervical cancer and environmental health risks. In addition, the program offers an annual health screening for women focused on common health conditions such as malaria, hypertension and anemia.

By complementing the current healthcare system in Pokuase with special health education and services for women, the initiative aims to promote the wellbeing of mothers, the bedrock of Pokuase's families. Societal norms in the region place disproportionate responsibility on women to care for families, even in times of sickness. With education sessions and free screenings, the WomensTrust Health Initiative uses preventative measures to ensure and promote women's health, benefiting the women themselves, their families and the community at large.

The WomensTrust Health Initiative started in November 2017 and runs year-round. The program will serve an anticipated 1,000 women in the first year, including many of the same families who are involved in the WomensTrust education program, which provides school scholarships, supplemental instruction and mentoring for 185 girls and young women.