By Samira Larbie, GNA
Accra, Aug. 6, GNA – Stakeholders have called for evidence-based Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) to become a central pillar of Ghana’s Free Primary Health Care (PHC) agenda to improve health outcomes.
They said investments in health infrastructure, health workers and essential services would deliver limited results without public trust, community ownership and sustained positive health behaviours.
The stakeholders made the call at the opening of the 2026 Social and Behaviour Change Evidence Summit organised by the Health Promotion Division of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in Accra.
The two-day summit is on the theme: “Strengthening Free Primary Health Care in Ghana through Evidence-Based Social and Behaviour Change for Sustainable Health and Wellbeing.”
Dr Caroline Reindorf Amissah, Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, said expanding access to health services alone did not guarantee better health outcomes.
She said people must trust the health system, understand available services and be empowered to use them consistently, while communities should become active partners in safeguarding their own health.
“Social and Behaviour Change is no longer an optional component of health programmes. It is a strategic investment that determines whether interventions achieve their intended impact,” she said.
Dr Amissah said Ghana’s progress in immunisation, malaria prevention, maternal and child health, HIV testing and other priority health programmes had been driven by clinical interventions supported by community participation and behavioural change.
She urged health planners to use operational research, implementation science and community evidence in designing interventions, stressing that decisions should be guided by data rather than routine practice.
Professor Elvis Tarkang of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) described behaviour change as the link between the availability of health services and their utilisation.
He said the government could provide quality health services, but without corresponding changes in individual and community behaviour, the desired health outcomes would remain elusive.
“The focus of primary health care is the people. Without behaviour change, the services government has put in place will be null and void because people will not use them,” he said.
Prof. Tarkang said health-seeking behaviour was influenced not only by individual knowledge but also by poverty, distance to health facilities, cultural beliefs and other social determinants.
He called for greater investment in evidence-based health promotion interventions to address behavioural barriers at both the individual and community levels.
Dr Priscilla Madzinga-Kusena of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) called for Social and Behaviour Change to be recognised as a core public health systems function rather than a communication activity.
She said Africa CDC was promoting an Africa-led approach anchored on Behavioural Intelligence and Infodemic Management, sustainable financing and stronger community accountability to improve public health decision-making.
Dr Madzinga-Kusena said many barriers to the uptake of health services were rooted in health system weaknesses rather than inadequate communication.
“When the barrier is transport, another message will not solve it. When the barrier is a stock-out, a poster will not solve it. When the barrier is disrespectful care, more mobilisation will not solve it,” she said.
Dr Madzinga-Kusena said evidence-based Social and Behaviour Change should begin with an understanding of conditions in communities and the reasons behind prevailing behaviours before interventions were designed.
Mrs Mabel Kissiwah Asafo, Acting Director of the Health Promotion Division of the GHS, said the summit reflected Ghana’s commitment to ensuring that evidence informed policies, programmes and investments in primary health care.
She said lasting improvements in health outcomes depended on understanding communities, building trust and translating research into practical interventions that responded to local realities.
Mrs Asafo encouraged participants to share experiences, challenge assumptions and forge partnerships to strengthen evidence-based Social and Behaviour Change programming across the country.
The summit brought together policymakers, researchers, development partners, civil society organisations, academia and health practitioners to examine evidence, share innovations and develop recommendations to strengthen Ghana’s Free Primary Health Care programme through effective Social and Behaviour Change interventions.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
6 Aug. 2026
Reporter: Samira Larbie