The Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN) have called on journalists to help turn community feedback on health services into real improvements.
The call came on 30 September 2026 at a webinar on the Community Scorecard (CSC) Project, organised by AMMREN with the GHS Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Division. The event was supported by the Expertise France 5% Initiative Grant.
Delivering the keynote address, the Division’s Director, Dr. Samuel K. Boakye-Boateng, said the media are “a bridge between communities, health managers, policy-makers and the wider public.” He asked journalists to focus on four things: amplifying community voices, following the action and not only the announcement, reporting with accuracy, balance and context, and helping citizens understand how to take part.
“A scorecard finding should be a starting point for joint problem-solving, not a verdict on an individual health worker or institution,” he said. He added that a red indicator may attract attention, but the story should continue through the action plan and its implementation.
Dr. Boakye-Boateng explained that the Scorecard, developed in 2018 by the Ministry of Health and GHS with support from the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), lets communities score health services every quarter. The results lead to Community Health Action Plans with agreed responsibilities, and communities must be told what has been done. He said the aim is to make community feedback a routine part of health service management.
He also pledged that the GHS will engage openly with the media, share evidence and explain challenges honestly. “The credibility of the Community Scorecard depends on follow-through, and we must be prepared to be held to that standard,” he said.
In her welcome address, AMMREN Executive Secretary Dr. Charity Binka said the lessons emerging from communities must be communicated widely, and citizens’ voices heard beyond the project locations. She said journalists can translate technical information into accessible public knowledge, bring community concerns to decision-makers, highlight good practices and follow up on commitments. This, she said, strengthens transparency, accountability and public confidence in the health system.
She thanked partners including ALMA, Hope for Future Generations and WAPCAS, and reaffirmed AMMREN’s commitment to bridging the gap between health research, policy, communities and the media.
A presentation at the event showed that the four-year project has trained all 80 regional facilitators and 52 journalists. So far 685 of a targeted 1,850 CHPS zones and 47 of 135 district hospitals have been trained. The project’s challenges include inconsistent quarterly reporting and delayed funds.
