Benjamin Kobina Kwansa

Benjamin holds a BA and MPhil degrees from the University of Ghana. His training in anthropology ensured that he successfully completed his master’s thesis which focussed on paternal childcare roles. Specifically, he argued that men’s childcare roles varied according to, among other things, their relative conjugal resources and power, how couples cling to customs and traditions, educational levels, work schedules, money and material power, religion, and the type of marital unions they are involved in.

Between October 2002 and August 2005, Benjamin worked at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, in various capacities including a research assistant and a Graduate Assistant. In September 2006, he joined the ASSR as a PhD student. His current project is a three-tier multilevel study (health-institutional, community, and policy perspectives) in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, aimed at increasing access to Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) and Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) in Ghana. This project investigates in-depth some of the key issues that inhibit people in Ghana from taking up services of Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) and Antiretroviral Therapy (ART), both from the supply side and from the demand side. Benjamin’s study is the community-based aspect of the project which assesses people’s perceptions of VCT and ART and focuses on problems associated with accessing counselling and care; and issues relating to stigma, in two communities in the Ashanti Region.