Jonathan Osei Owusu is the Founder and Executive Director of the POS Foundation, a leading civil society organization in Ghana that focuses on Access to Justice, Human Rights Advocacy, Law/Policy Reforms, Youth Development and Gender and Women's Economic Empowerment. As a human rights advocate, Jonathan has prepared Civil Society Organizations (CSO) shadow-reports for UN Committees and Councils. The POS FOUNDATION serves as the convener for the Ghana UPR Civil Society Platform, while making oral submissions to the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva. 

Jonathan also is the second Vice President for the Federation of Youth Associations of Ghana, Vice Chairman of the Ghana Human Rights NGOs Forum, and a member of the Steering Committee - Coalition on the Right to Information- RTI Ghana. Jonathan is trained in development leadership and human rights advocacy from the Coady International Institute of St. Francis Xavier University and has addressed several human rights abuse cases in court and in the media. He also facilitates the state initiated ‘Justice for All Program’ for remand prisoners, which aims to decongest prisons in Ghana.

IVLP Impact Award Project: Substance Use and Prevention: A Comparative Dialogue Between Ghana and the USA

The project brought together 271 participants from Ghana and the US in a comparative dialogue about substance use and prevention and drug policies and reforms. Participants included students from three US universities, IVLP alumni, Ghanaian law students and community members. The project equipped participants with a comprehensive understanding of drug reforms in line with international best practices and standards and helped ensure that the public discussion around substance use in Ghana adopts a human rights and public health approach.

Jonathan also moderated the IVLP Impact Awards Alumni Discussion Series panel on “Global Public Health,” which you can read more about here.

"There needs to be more seminars such as this to create public awareness and demystify entrenched misconceptions." - Project Participant

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Jonathan participated in the IVLP Project Human and Civil Rights for Marginalized Communities II organized by the U.S. Department of State and World Learning, in partnership with GlobalJax, Global Ties ABQ and the U.S. Department of State Office of International Visitors program branch in New York City.

Jonathan's exchange experience led to the development of his IVLP Impact Award Project: "The opportunity to travel around the United States of America to understand the various operating systems within different states on policy and law reforms and enforcement of laws, as well as judicial interventions, gave me a fair understanding of how community-driven reform is undertaken."

U.S. Communities Visited

Washington, DC; Jacksonville, FL; Albuquerque, NM; New York City, NY

"I think that in being a key part of the advocacy for the passage of the Narcotics Control Commission Act, there is a need to undertake prevention and education campaigns for the youth in our country on an in-depth understanding of substance use and prevention." - Jonathan Osei Owusu

Country: Ghana

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