Vulnerability Analysis

Vulnerability may be defined as lack of capacity (of a household) to cope with adverse shock on resilience against a shock. Or it may be defined as the probability that livelihood stress would occur. Groups that have been identified in the Municipality as vulnerable and excluded include women, children, and persons with disability, orphans, PLHIV and the aged. Several factors have been identified as the cause of vulnerability in the Municipality. Among these factors are subsistence farming, the vagaries of weather, dependence on agriculture on rain fed, food insecurity, inadequate access to credit, and lack of employable skills, child labour, broken home, low income, unemployment and underemployment.

The Municipality has benefited from a Community based Rehabilitation pilot project set up by the mother Municipality (Asante Akim Central Municipality) in six (6) selected communities in collaboration with the department of Social Welfare and Community Development to assist in the training and empowering of the vulnerable/excluded. The project has been expanded to all the communities in the district where ninety (90) physically challenged persons were identified and registered. Other programmes implemented by the Assembly to support the vulnerable included, provision of financial support to promote girl-child education. The details are shown in a table below:

HIV/AIDS

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a global crisis and constitutes one of the most formidable challenges to development and social progress. HIV/AIDS is a development issue with consequences far beyond the health sector. It is therefore very crucial to seek appropriate solutions. The District Health Management Team (DHMT) is leading the crusade to fight the endemic in the district.

There is an established Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) centre of Agogo Hospital in 2004 but was officially adopted by the National Aids Control Programme (NACP) in 2007. The ART Centre had a membership of five (5) patients. By the end of 2013, the ART centre have registered (959) patients who are receiving ART clinical care.

Generally, records available show that women are more susceptible to HIV/AIDS than men. Out of 90 people who tested HIV positive in 2011, Fifty Seven (57) were females whilst Thirty three (33) were males.

Programs used at the art center,

1. Voluntary Counselling and Texting – VCT

2. HIV testing and Counselling – HTC

3. ART Services

4. Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission – PMTCT

5. Outreach services including Radio Talk shows

6. Treatment of opportunistic Infection (O.K)

Officers handling HIV and AIDS

1. One (1) Physician Specialist

2. One (1) Physician Assistant

3. Adherence Counsellor

4. Two (2) Nurses

5. Data Officer

6. HIV and AIDS Co-ordinator at the Hospital

7. District HIV and AIDS Focal Person

8. There are also trained counsellors at various wards in the Agogo hospital.

Achievements

· Fifteen (15) infants whose mothers went through PMTCT successful tested Negative for the Early Infants Diagnosis

   (EID) when samples were taken for PCR.

· Ten Health workers who accidental occupational injuries went through post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) successfully

   and all tested negative.

Challenges

Logistic constraints: the community/Home Based service has suffered serious setbacks all because of inadequate logistics.

· Support for the extremely poor patients who cannot even afford a day’s meal and means of transport to attend the
  clinic are not forthcoming.

· Lack of financial assistance from the Central Government to organize behavioral change communication.

Gender

Gender has become one of most pressing issues in the district because of gender disparity. In view of this, the District has integrated gender issues into the entire spectrum of its programmes and activities in order to foster good gender relations for mutual respect between the gender and eliminate gender disparity. This will ensure that women have access to information and services and exercise their responsibilities and also to address socio- Cultural factors underlying discrimination based on sex.

Besides this the Municipality has made progress toward 3rd MDG target by promoting gender equality and empowerment of women by eliminating gender disparity and promoting the involvement of women in decision making through workshop/education.

Females contribute large number of people in the Municipality. But in almost all issues relating to the development of the Municipality, women are not actually well involved as men. Females are vulnerable in the Municipality than men. The following analysis attests to that fact.

Poverty in the Municipality for instance has important gender dimension. The incidence of poverty is more stinking among females who also constitute 51.3 percent of the district’s population. Women have heavier time burdens, lower rates of utilisation of productive resources and lower literacy levels.

Disparities with respect to access to and control of a range of the Municipality productive assets such as land, credit, education and human and social assets. Participation at various levels of decision making are skewed against women in the district.

Socio–cultural factors and practices such as funeral arrangements and inheritance systems continue to perpetuate the gender inequalities in assess and use of services.

Unemployment is higher among females compared to males in the Municipality. Statistics indicate that 5.1 percent of females are unemployed within the female population aged 15 years and older whilst 4 percent of males are unemployed within the male population aged 15 years and older.

Females account for 9.4% of the total membership of the Municipal Assembly as against 90.6% males. Out of 32 Assembly members, 2 are females whilst 29 are males.