The Challenge
Ghana is facing a silent epidemic. Hypertension, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and obesity are no longer illnesses of affluence. They are realities across villages, towns, and cities. The 2023 Ghana STEPS Survey paints a sobering picture:
• Nearly 1 in 5 adults has raised blood pressure.
• 21.8% of adults have high cholesterol.
• Almost 25% of adults aged 45–69 live with three or more risk factors.
These numbers are not just statistics. They are parents unable to work, families spending their savings on long-term care, and communities losing their most productive members.
The Ministry of Health has set a clear direction through the National NCD Policy (2022) and the National Guidelines for CVD Management. What is now required are partners who can operationalise these frameworks, linking national strategy to local reality.
That is where YIDA Ghana steps in. We take the commitments in policy documents and bring them to life — in markets, schools, churches, workplaces, and farms.
Our Approach
YIDA’s model is built around five interconnected pillars, designed to move from awareness to action, and from dependency to self-sustaining community ownership. Together, they form a holistic response linking health, livelihoods, and governance in one continuum of care.
Screening & Early Detection
Prevention begins with knowledge.
YIDA brings diagnostic access to the doorstep through mobile clinics, workplace screenings, and community health drives. We target underserved populations, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas, ensuring that people can “know their numbers” and act early.
Through partnerships with district hospitals and CHPS compounds, we ensure seamless referrals and follow-up for those at risk.
By 2028, YIDA will:
• Screen 100,000 individuals across five regions.
• Operate 10 mobile screening hubs nationwide.
• Achieve 50% referral compliance for high-risk cases.
Each test is more than a number; it is the start of a new possibility.
Health Education & Advocacy
Awareness is the foundation of prevention. YIDA’s education and advocacy campaigns reach people where they live and learn — in classrooms, churches, markets, and online. We equip individuals and families with the knowledge and motivation to make small, consistent lifestyle changes that protect their health.
Our flagship campaign, “Know Your Numbers, Save Your Life”, is a nationwide movement promoting healthy diets, reduced salt and sugar intake, regular physical activity, and tobacco and alcohol moderation.
In schools, YIDA health clubs are nurturing a generation that views wellbeing not as a privilege but as a civic responsibility.
By 2028:
• 500,000 people reached through public health campaigns.
• 100 school health clubs established nationwide.
• Annual national advocacy events aligned with World Heart Day, World Hypertension Day, and other global milestones.
We do not preach health; we live it, teach it, and make it possible.
Policy Engagement & Research
Policies matter, but policies only change lives when they are implemented. YIDA brings grassroots evidence to national tables, contributing research and data that shape Ghana’s evolving NCD agenda. Through policy briefs, stakeholder dialogues, and technical working groups, we ensure that the realities of ordinary citizens inform national priorities.
Our partnerships with universities and research institutions strengthen both the evidence base and the policy response.
By 2028:
• 6 policy briefs published.
• 3 national NCD stakeholder forums convened.
• Contributions made to Ministry of Health working groups on NCD policy.
We are not just delivering programmes; we are building the knowledge that shapes the future.
Institutional Partnerships & Capacity Building
No organisation can solve the NCD crisis alone. YIDA’s role is to connect the dots by strengthening existing systems, supporting health professionals, and amplifying what works.
Local Insights, Global Standards
We collaborate with hospitals, universities, private sector CSR programmes, and NGOs to expand reach and deepen impact. We also seek investment in the training of frontline workers, ensuring that health promotion and early detection become standard practice, not special projects.
By 2028:
• 500 community health workers and volunteers trained.
• 20 institutional partnerships formalised.
• A National Community Health Promotion Toolkit developed and adopted by partner organisations.
We build capacity not for dependency but for continuity
Sustainability & Community Ownership
True health transformation is not about charity; it is about creating systems that can sustain themselves.
YIDA’s Agriculture-for-Health Initiative turns this principle into practice. Through community crop farms, we link health to nutrition, income generation, and resilience. The farms provide both a revenue stream for YIDA’s programmes and a teaching platform for healthy diets.
Managed by local health committees, these farms employ youth and women, with profits reinvested into screenings, scholarships, and local insurance subsidies.
By 2028:
• 5 community farms operational, contributing up to 30% of YIDA’s core costs.
• 30 community health committees actively governing local programmes.
• 70% of volunteers retained long-term through shared ownership and purpose.
Our goal is not to create beneficiaries, but co-owners of health.
Our Impact Framework
For YIDA, impact is not measured in numbers alone but in the strength of systems and the resilience of people.
Our Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework ensures that every screening, every campaign, and every partnership produces measurable and meaningful outcomes.
Yireh International Development Agency (YIDA) Ghana LBG is a health-focused social enterprise working at the intersection of public health, social innovation, and community empowerment.