Background Prior to the advent of modern obstetric services, traditional birth attendants (TBAs) have rendered services to pregnant women and women in labour for a long time. Although it is anticipated that women in contemporary societies will give birth in hospitals and clinics, some women still patronize the services of TBAs. The study therefore sought to gain an in-depth understanding of the initiation of TBAs and their traditional and spiritual practices employed during pregnancy and childbirth in Ghana. Methods The design was an exploratory qualitative one using in-depth individual interviews. Data saturation was reached with 16 participants who were all of Christian faith. Interviews were conducted with a semi-structured interview guide, audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was employed to generate findings. Results The findings showed that TBAs were initiated through apprenticeship from family members who were TBAs and other non-family TBAs as well as through dreams and revelations. They practice using both spiritual and physical methods and their work was founded on spiritual directions, use of spiritual artefacts, herbs and physical examination. TBAs delay cutting of the cord and disposal of the placenta was associated with beliefs which indicated that when not properly disposed, it will have negative consequences on the child during adulthood. Conclusion Although, TBAs like maternal health professionals operate to improve maternal health care, some of their spiritual practices and beliefs may pose threats to their clients. Nonetheless, with appropriate initiation and training, they can become useful.

The use of traditional medicine for the treatment of various disorders is not a new practice. Indeed, various categories of traditional healers form a large part of the healthcare workforce in many low- and middle-income countries, and given the paucity of mental health professionals in these countries, traditional and complementary medicine practitioners are utilised even more so for mental disorders. In Ghana, efforts have been made to formalise and standardise the work of traditional medicine practitioners. This goal is still mostly unmet, partly due to the lack of scientific knowledge of their beliefs, methods, and practices in mental healthcare. Very few studies have documented this knowledge. In this article, we report on some of the methods that are used by traditional Ghanaian herbalists in treating mental disorders. Eight herbalists working within the Greater Accra Region, who specialised in mental health, were interviewed through individual semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis showed that traditional herbalists’ work in treating mental disorders revolved around four key themes: the method of diagnosis; the treatment methods used; the mode of administering the treatment; and the purpose of the specific treatment. These themes are discussed with reference to their potential implications for patients’ care and outcomes.

Christianity in Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone consists of Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Pentecostal traditions, with Christians forming the majority in Ghana and Liberia. The influence of Christianity in these West African states extends historically, socially, and politically. Early missions faced challenges from Islam and traditional social structures, but later missionary efforts, coupled with indigenous participation, led to significant church growth. These churches have contributed to social services, education, and healthcare while also engaging in efforts to contextualize Christian theology and address local needs. Pentecostalism is notably reshaping Christianity in the region, and churches are expanding transnationally, addressing challenges like poverty, disease, and interreligious tensions.

BACKGROUND:The past decade has seen an increased number of state-civil society partnerships in the global Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) response of many countries. However, there has been limited research carried out concerning the successes and challenges of these partnerships.METHODS:In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 23 participants from 21 different state-civil society partnerships throughout Ghana including all three major geographical zones (Northern, Middle, and Southern zones) to examine the nature of these partnerships and their positive and negative effects in responding to the national HIV/AIDS epidemic.RESULTS:Major themes included: 1) commitment by the government and civil society organizations to work cooperatively in order to support the development and implementation of HIV/AIDS interventions in Ghana; 2) the role of civil society organizations in facilitating community mobilization; capacity building; and information, resources and skills exchange to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of these partnerships for HIV prevention and treatment; and 3) significant challenges including funding issues and other structural barriers for these partnerships that need to be addressed moving forward.CONCLUSIONS:Future research should focus on examining the impact of recommended changes on state-civil partnerships and studying the extent and nature of these partnerships in other countries in order to establish the generalizability of the findings from this study.

Background Religiosity in health care delivery has attracted some attention in contemporary literature. The religious beliefs and practices of patients play an important role in the recovery of the patient. Pregnant women and women in labour exhibit their faith and use religious artefacts. This phenomenon is poorly understood in Ghana. The study sought to investigate the religious beliefs and practices of post-partum Ghanaian women. Methods A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted inductively involving 13 women who were sampled purposively. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted in English, Ga, Twi and Ewe. The interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. Concurrent analysis was done employing the principles of content analysis. Ethical approval was obtained for the study and anonymity and confidentiality were ensured. Results Themes generated revealed religious beliefs and practices such as prayer, singing, thanksgiving at church, fellowship and emotional support. Pastors’ spiritual interventions in pregnancy included prayer and revelations, reversing negative dreams, laying of hands and anointing women. Also, traditional beliefs and practices were food and water restrictions and tribal rituals. Religious artefacts used in pregnancy and labour were anointing oil, blessed water, sticker, blessed white handkerchief, blessed sand, Bible and Rosary. Family influence and secrecy were associated with the use of artefacts. Conclusions Religiosity should be a key component of training health care professionals so that they can understand the religious needs of their clients and provide holistic care. We concluded that pregnant women and women in labour should be supported to exercise their religious beliefs and practices.

BACKGROUND:Beliefs surrounding pain during childbirth has biblical foundations that contribute to labour pain being viewed as a natural phenomenon. Contemporary health care promotes evidence-based labour pain management but the faith of the midwife may influence her midwifery practice regarding labour pain management. Therefore this study sought to gain in-depth insight into the experiences and perceptions of midwives regarding labour pain and the religious beliefs and practices influencing their care of women in labour in Ghana.METHODS:The design of the study was an interpretive phenomenology using individual in-depth interviews. The study participants were 27 Ghanaian female midwives of various religious backgrounds. Interviews were conducted in English, audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Colaizzi's qualitative analysis procedures were employed concurrently with data collection.RESULTS:Three major themes were generated: religious beliefs about labour pain, religious practices in labour and religious artefacts used in labour. The midwives' faith and their experiences during their midwifery practice were inter-connected. The midwives believed labour pain was natural and religious practices are important to prevent complications. Religious artefacts used in labour included anointing oil and water, necklaces, rubber bands, bracelets, stickers and beads.CONCLUSION:It is important that midwives provide an enabling environment for women in labour to practice their faith and they should employ context-appropriate strategies to effectively manage labour pain that takes into account the religious beliefs and practices of women.

The diversity of African Pentecostalism, its early colonial and missionary history and its current characteristics are described and analysed. Reference is made to methods of training and forms of leadership, and suggestions are made about the reasons for its growth and persistence.

The neo-prophetic churches, the most recent expression of Pentecostalism, currently experiencing stupendous growth, do more contextual or inculturation hermeneutics than did earlier Pentecostal movements. They have, as their pillars, African biblical hermeneutics (shaped by elements in the African context) and global Pentecostal hermeneutical paradigms (also shaped by Pentecostal beliefs). In relying on these two pillars, they have appropriated western biblical hermeneutical tools, categories and methods in the African milieu; hence their appeal to a large number of contemporary African Christians.

One of the features of African primal religions that has stood the test of time is the practice of seeking the cause of evil occurrences, power to deal with it or to avert any future reoccurrence and the search for one's destiny through divination which has been designated ‘prophetism’ in Christianity. The African Indigenous Churches were the first to build the bridge between primal religion and African Christianity by appropriating resources from the gospel to deal with this typical African religious practice. This essay looks at the phenomenon in primal religion, African Indigenous Churches (AICs), the older or Classical Pentecostalism, and contemporary Pentecostal movements. One can establish a continuum from primal religion to the current renewal movements with regards to prophetism, due to the deep-seated quest of the phenomenon in African worldview, which indeed was predicted by Professor C. G. Baëta, Ghana's foremost distinguished scholar who studied the phenomenon more than four decades ago.

Contrary to the long-held erroneous thesis that Christianity was imposed on the African and that it would experience a demise after the exit of European colonizers and missionaries, Christianity is not only thriving in Africa, but Africa is fast becoming a major center of world Christianity. This paper attempts to show that the African is willing to accept the gospel because it resonates with the African worldview and that the African has willingly and consistently been part of the evangelizing team, eventually (or even sometimes initially, as we shall show) owning it and propagating it with his/her own resources. This paper tries also to map out various dimensions of African initiatives which the student of African Christianity could explore.