The Social Costs of the International Monetary Fund's Adjustment Programs for Poverty: The Case of Health Care Development in Ghana

Abstract

A primary health care (PHC) strategy was adopted in Ghana in 1978, but the civilian government at the time failed to implement the program designed to achieve health for all Ghanaians. In 1982, the revolutionary military government under Rawlings indicated its commitment to the full implementation of the PHC program. In this article, the author seeks to examine the extent to which the Economic Recovery Program initiated by the Rawlings' regime, its policy of decentralization and mobilization of the masses, and its promise to institute some fundamental organizational and structural changes in the health care delivery system, are contributing to the process of achieving “health for all” Ghanaians.