Ucare

Ucare UCARE | Unpaid Care Work Counts, Share the Care
Reducing women’s unpaid care burden in Northern Ghana.

Data-driven policy • Gender-Model Families • Women’s agency
Partners: Alinea Intl. & GAC.

16/02/2026
Under the UCARE Project with funding from Global Affairs Canada, we recently hosted a Training of Trainers (ToT) for MMD...
06/02/2026

Under the UCARE Project with funding from Global Affairs Canada, we recently hosted a Training of Trainers (ToT) for MMDA staff!

This session prepares them to lead step-down training for Assembly Members, framing Unpaid Care Work (UCW) as a critical local development priority.

The goal? Equipping Assembly Members to:
💡 Deepen understanding of UCW and its impact on community development.
📊 Apply gender analysis to identify urgent community priorities.
📢 Advocate for care-responsive needs in MMDA plans and programs.

By moving this knowledge closer to the community, we are strengthening inclusive planning for women and adolescent girls.

Alinea Foundation

Alinea Foundation, with funding from Global Affairs Canada under the UCARE Project, has successfully held a one-day dial...
29/01/2026

Alinea Foundation, with funding from Global Affairs Canada under the UCARE Project, has successfully held a one-day dialogue in Tamale with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) from UCARE districts in the Northern, North East and Savannah Regions.
The dialogue focused on strengthening understanding of unpaid care work (UCW) and its development impact, following the integration of UCW priorities into Ghana’s 2026–2029 Medium-Term Development Planning Guidelines.
Through policy-focused discussions, group work, and practical knowledge products, including case studies, briefs, and infographics, participants deepened their ability to:
interpret UCW-related national policy guidance
identify priority UCW issues affecting district development outcomes
apply UCW considerations in district plans, programmes and budgets
Engaging MMDCEs is critical, as they approve district plans and budgets and play a central role in translating care priorities into action at the local level.
We thank participating MMDCEs for their engagement and commitment to advancing care-sensitive district planning.


SEND GHANA
NETRIGHT-Ghana
Savelugu Nanton Municipal Assembly
EAST GONJA Municipal Assembly
East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly- Talk to the MCE/ MCD
West Gonja District Assembly
CENTRAL GONJA District Assembly
Mamprugu Moagduri District Assembly
Mion District Assembly In focus

If unpaid care work came with a receipt, what would it show?Hours spent fetching water.Hours cooking and cleaning.Hours ...
19/01/2026

If unpaid care work came with a receipt, what would it show?
Hours spent fetching water.
Hours cooking and cleaning.
Hours caring for children, the sick, and older relatives.
This is unpaid care work, essential yet rarely recognised or counted - and is often missing from development planning and budgeting decisions.
Meanwhile, women and adolescent girls often carry most of this unpaid care work.
UCARE funded by Global Affairs Canada is supporting to address this by using national data and field research to turn unpaid care work into visible evidence, supporting to identify priorities and invest in solutions that save time, protect dignity, and strengthen local development.
Because what gets measured gets planned for.
Alinea International SEND GHANA NETRIGHT-Ghana

As families come together this Christmas, households become larger, meals become bigger, and care needs increase. Cookin...
19/12/2025

As families come together this Christmas, households become larger, meals become bigger, and care needs increase.
Cooking, cleaning, childcare, and caring for older family members all take more time and effort.

Too often, this extra work quietly falls on women and adolescent girls.
Unpaid care work keeps our families and celebrations running, but when it is not shared, it can turn a season of joy into a season of exhaustion.

This holiday season, let’s be intentional.
💛 Share household responsibilities
💛 Support those doing the invisible work
💛 Make time for rest, not just giving

When care is recognised and shared, everyone gets to enjoy the celebration.
From all of us at UCARE, we wish you a joyful, restful, and caring Christmas.
Let’s share the care, today and beyond the holidays.

Funded by Global Affairs Canada

Alinea International SEND GHANA NETRIGHT-Ghana

SEND GHANA, under the UCARE Project, has trained 150 community facilitators, together with   officers and Women’s Rights...
11/12/2025

SEND GHANA, under the UCARE Project, has trained 150 community facilitators, together with officers and Women’s Rights Organisation staff, across the 10 project districts in the Northern, Savannah, and North-East regions.

Using the Gender Model Family (GMF) approach, facilitators gained practical skills to help households recognise the value of unpaid care and domestic work, reflect on how responsibilities are shared, and take simple steps toward more balanced and supportive homes. With this training completed and strong collaboration with the MMDAs, the facilitators are now ready to engage communities to promote healthier, more gender-responsive household practices.

The UCARE Project, funded by Global Affairs Canada, remains committed to strengthening families and supporting care-sensitive development across Northern Ghana.



Alinea Foundation
NETRIGHT-Ghana

Before sunrise, Amina in Damongo has already swept, fetched water, and cooked – three hours of carework before her day t...
04/12/2025

Before sunrise, Amina in Damongo has already swept, fetched water, and cooked – three hours of carework before her day truly begins.
Her story reflects a national reality: women in Ghana spend 140 minutes each day on unpaid care work, while men spend 44 on average. In the northern regions, that gap widens; women do over 5x more time than men.
The UCARE Project funded by Global Affairs Canada is helping district assemblies use data on unpaid care in planning, a first step toward making future water, childcare, and access to fuel more responsive to family needs. Because when we recognise care, we make time count for everyone.
Alinea Foundation
SEND GHANA
NETRIGHT-Ghana


Unpaid care work (UCW) is a global issue at the heart of the UN Sustainable Development Goals on gender equality and dec...
27/11/2025

Unpaid care work (UCW) is a global issue at the heart of the UN Sustainable Development Goals on gender equality and decent work.
In many households, it places a heavy-unequal demand on mothers, sisters, and daughters, affecting their time, well-being, education, and access to paid work.
Across our communities, conversations about unpaid care work often lack the clear information needed to see its full impact and plan effectively for change.

That’s why the UCARE Project, funded by Global Affairs Canada and its partners are developing Knowledge Materials that make reliable, easy-to-use information on UCW available to families, stakeholders, and local decision-makers.

These resources support communities and districts assemblies to:
better appreciate the scale and nature of care responsibilities,
plan and budget with care needs in mind,
shape care-responsive policies, and
encourage a more equitable sharing of gender roles.

By strengthening the information available to all of us, we help make everyone’s time count and build more inclusive, equitable communities.
Want to understand Unpaid Care Work better?

Download UCARE’s 1-pager here https://bit.ly/44z21ds and learn more

Alinea International
SEND GHANA NETRIGHT-Ghana

Under the UCARE Project, funded by Global Affairs Canada, SEND GHANA has been working with communities to help families ...
21/11/2025

Under the UCARE Project, funded by Global Affairs Canada, SEND GHANA has been working with communities to help families talk about and share the unpaid care work that often falls heavily on women and girls.
Through community sensitisation and the Gender Model Family approach, SEND has supported over 11,500 households across northern Ghana to reflect on daily care routines and explore fairer, more balanced ways of managing responsibilities at home. With strong support from and committed community volunteers, participation and ownership continue to grow across districts.
We appreciate SEND Ghana for their dedication to creating care-responsive households and strengthening family well-being across northern Ghana.
Together, we can continue building homes and communities where care is valued and shared.


Alinea Foundation

The UCARE Project has successfully concluded its Semi-Annual Review and Planning Workshop in Tamale, with active partici...
05/11/2025

The UCARE Project has successfully concluded its Semi-Annual Review and Planning Workshop in Tamale, with active participation from key stakeholders and partners, including MMDAs, RCCs, SEND GHANA, NETRIGHT-Ghana, and Alinea Foundation.

It was a week of reflection, shared learning, and strengthened collaboration.

Together, partners achieved a sharper focus by:
✅ Exchanging insights and feedback on ongoing collaboration around unpaid care work.
✅ Aligning priorities and resources for the next six months to boost coordination and impact.
✅ Reaffirming commitment to integrating unpaid care work into district assembly plans and budgets.

The conversations were rich, the partnerships stronger, and the commitment clearer than ever- to Recognize, Reduce, Redistribute, and Respond to unpaid care work in Northern Ghana.

A heartfelt thank you to all partners and stakeholders for a week of accountability and collaboration!


Funded by Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada

30/10/2025

Care work like cooking, cleaning and caring for children is a vital part of what makes communities function, yet it remains largely unpaid, unrecognized and falls mostly on women and girls.

On the UN International Day for Care and Support we are highlighting the Ucare project. Funded by Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada and implemented by Alinea in partnership with NETRIGHT-Ghana and Ghana Ghana the project aims to recognize care work as valuable labour, redistribute it between men and women, and reduce the burden with access resources and time-saving tools.

Read more here: https://www.alineainternational.com/recognizing-care-work-ucare-marks-un-international-day-for-care-and-support

29/10/2025

Care makes the world work, but too often, it goes unseen.
Today, we join the United Nations to celebrate the people who give their time, love, and energy every day.

Let’s recognize, reduce, redistribute, and respond to unpaid care work.
Because when we share the care, everyone thrives. 💜



Funded by Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada

Alinea International SEND GHANA NETRIGHT-Ghana

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House Number 8, Kanvilli, Tamale West, Tamale
Tamale Port

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