Young and Safe

The city of Ho was identified in the HCA-II Ghana Scoping Study (July 2022) as offering an enabling environment for intervention in adolescent health and wellbeing. Located in the south-eastern part of the country, Ho is the administrative capital and economic hub of Ghana’s Volta region. Adolescents represent approximately 21% of the city’s population and face challenges similar to those in other Ghanaian cities, such as a lack of access to opportunities, activities, spaces and support. This leads to high rates of youth unemployment, teenage pregnancy and increasing drug abuse. Young people also have very limited engagement in Ho’s decision-making institutions.

Despite this, the city presents distinct opportunities for collaboration between city authorities and non-governmental actors, an appetite for digital and technology-focused initiatives and the unique characteristic of having both a technical and a health sciences university in the same city.