Ghana’s Bishops Join the Critique of the Nation’s Proposed Health Education Manual

The Catholic bishops of Ghana have called for a comprehensive review and audit of the country’s educational curriculum development process after the circulation of a teachers’ manual that contained LGBTQ-related definitions and concepts.

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) issued a statement on January 16 saying that the manual did not align with the country’s “cultural, biological, and moral understanding of the human being,” according to Modern Ghana. The conference called for “a comprehensive review of curriculum development and editorial processes, with particular attention to transparency, accountability, and value alignment.”

The call for  a review came after the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) printed copies of the Year 2 Senior High manual for Physical Education and Health teachers which the GCBC statement said “caused understandable anxiety among parents, educators, and citizens who perceived a threat to traditional conceptions of family, personhood, and moral formation.” According to CitiNews, the NaCCA explained that they withdrew the publication because content on gender identity was problematic for some Ghanians.

A separate CitiNews article contained a photo of the manual’s page which contained the gender identity definition. The text reads:

“Gender identity: It refers to a person’s deeply felt internal experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth. It can include being male, female or a blend of both. This concept goes beyond the binary notion of gender (male and female) and recognises the diversity of gender experiences and expressions.”

While the bishops approved of the NaCCA’s decision to withdraw the manual, they suggested that the incident suggests deeper problems, prompting the need for an audit:

 “. . . [W]e remain convinced that this incident reveals deeper weaknesses in oversight, consultation, and value alignment within curriculum development processes. Public trust in education depends on transparency, accountability, and fidelity to constitutional and moral principles.”

Along with the proposed audit, the bishops suggest the establishment of ethical oversight committees, which would include educators, theologians, and cultural experts, to vet materials dealing with personal identity, relationships, and sexuality. Additionally, the bishops call for greater parental involvement and increased communication by educational authorities. 

What needs to be noted about the news coverage of this situation is that none of the stories contained any support of the NaCCA’s original text.  For the gender identity definition to have appeared in the first place indicates that some of the country’s education officials must have agreed with it.  Is the absence of any voices supporting the original text a result of poor news reporting which did not seek alternative perspectives or the possibility that alternative voices are too fearful to speak out?

Unfortunately, when the bishops characterize LGBTQ+ realities as outside of and opposed to any community’s wider cultural values, it only serves to isolate and harm LGBTQ+ individuals who also call that community home. LGBTQ+ Ghanaians will continue to demonstrate reverence for God, respect for family, and devotion to community–even when this is not recognized by Catholic leaders, and even despite the attempt to suppress their stories. 

—Phoebe Carstens and Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry, February 2, 2026