Ghana

Beyond Stigma’s work in Ghana focuses on adapting and embedding Wakakosha within local realities, priorities, and lived experiences. Rather than replicating the Zimbabwe model, the programme was intentionally re-designed with Zvandirri alongside partners, WAPCAS and DAAKYE, and young people to ensure cultural relevance, ownership, and sustainability. Ghana represents a key site for learning on adaptation across populations, particularly adolescent girls and key populations.

Prior to delivery, the Wakakosha curriculum was collaboratively revised with partners and young people in Ghana to support modular and flexible delivery.

This included:

Reframing the curriculum into a five-block model to enable adaptation across settings and groups
Updating the activity journal to improve accessibility and flow
Co-creating the programme name: Me Sombo (“I am Worthy”) and visual identity with young people, strengthening cultural relevance and local ownership

This process ensured the programme reflected Ghanaian cultural, linguistic, and social contexts from the outset.

In November 2024, Wakakosha was delivered in Ghana as Me Sombo through a six-day residential programme. To ensure safety and relevance, the programme was delivered through two parallel tracks, allowing tailored facilitation for distinct participant groups. Sessions were adapted to varying literacy levels and language preferences using visual tools, discussion-based methods, and alternatives to written expression. Daily evaluations and facilitator reflections informed real-time adjustments to pacing and content.

In 2025, research findings from this residential program have been presented at ICASA 2025 Conference in Accra, Ghana.

Ghana at ICASA:
Peer Power in Action

Following two impactful years under the Momentum Grant, our team participated in the ViiV Healthcare Linking & Learning Meeting in Ghana in 2025, a powerful convening of projects working to address internal stigma. During the meeting, we highlighted the Wakakosha Project and its transformational impact on young people living with HIV, recognised as a leading peer-led innovation within the Zvandiri Programme.

Beyond Stigma was also proudly represented at the ICASA Conference in Accra, where our team exhibited the MeSomBo poster. MeSomBo is a Ghanaian-led peer-support model, adapted from Wakakosha, designed to strengthen mental health, resilience, and stigma-free HIV care among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and key populations.

Ghana as a Learning Site

Ghana has been central to Beyond Stigma’s understanding of how programmes can be meaningfully adapted across populations and settings. Insights from Me Sombo continue to inform peer support guides, mentorship models, and future adaptations in other countries.