West Africa Program To Combat AIDS & STI
WAPCAS commenced operations in Ghana in 1996 as part of a regional project of the Canadian International Development Agency. For more than 20 years, WAPCAS has been implementing STI/HIV interventions for Key Populations (KPs) with technical and financial support from key donors and government agencies including CIDA, USAID, The Global Fund, GIZ, DANIDA, AJWS, and GOG.
Currently, WAPCAS is reaching about 35,000 KPs (female sex workers and their non-paying partners as well as men who have sex with men) in various projects which are implemented by 6 national coordinators, 35 field officers, 253 peer educators and trained Ghana Health Service support nurses. These projects are coordinated from the head office and 28 satellite offices across the country. The organization created and supported a network of 21 KP friendly clinics that offer STI and HIV services. WAPCAS also facilitated and supported the formation of the first KP Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in Kumasi and Ashaiman, Ghana.
For their achievements, WAPCAS was awarded the best local Civil Society Organization during the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Ghana AIDS Commission in 2012. In 2018, WAPCAS was given an award by PEPFAR for the outstanding contribution and leadership in the Female Sex Workers space.