ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Urban Agriculture in Accra Metropolis: Dimensions and Implications for urban Development. In: In: Parot, L. Njoya, A. Assogba-Komlan. F. Kahane, R. Ba Diao M, Havard, M. Editors: Agricultures et dévelopment urbain en Afrique subsaharienne. Governance et approvisionnement des villes

Urban Agriculture (UA) in Accra is an old practice which has grown to a phenomenon of significance in the last decades as a result of rapid rate of urbanization and its attendant increase in urban food demand. A study on the inventory of UA in Accra was carried out through participatory multi-stakeholder process. The study considered various forms of UA, analyzed the direct and indirect stakeholders involved, assessed the functions provided by open space and analyzed relevant municipal policies on UA. Study approach included literature reviews, key informant interviews, focused group discussions and use of semi-structured questionnaires for individual interview. There are diversities in agricultural practices in the city; UA production systems include poultry, small ruminants, irrigated vegetable, mushroom, floriculture, domesticated wildlife and seasonal crop production. The dominant UA are irrigated, market-oriented, vegetable production with an average farm size of 0.02 ha. UA contributes up to 80 % to the supply of fresh exotic vegetables to Accra. In addition irrigated vegetable farming supports 1000 farmers’ livelihood as it could yield an average of US$ 45 / month per farm which is well above the per capital General Net Income of US$ 27/month in Ghana. Moreover, emerging non-traditional production systems such as mushroom cultivation and domestication of grasscutter were reported to be lucrative ventures for UA practitioners. Nevertheless, there are no specific policies on UA, neither is it integrated prominently in the general micro-economic level development policies. To maximize the benefits and ensure sustainability of UA in Accra, there is need to institutionalize UA by integrating it into overall urban development plan. Achieving this will involve the formulation of appropriate UA policy and development of strategic action plans with the full involvement of all relevant stakeholders

Source: UG
Urban agriculture, local economic development and climate change: conceptual linkages

Globally, cities have become hubs for economic activity, productivity, and important platforms for achieving sustainable development goals. The potential of urban agriculture (UA) in improving urban local economies and urban micro-climate has been acknowledged in the literature. The study looked at how the concepts of UA, local economic development (LED) and climate change can be treated in unison. Based on the review of credible published papers on the various concepts of UA, LED, and climate change and nature-based solutions (NBS), a proposed conceptual framework was developed in this paper, showing the linkages. The paper established that UA could boost LED, build resilient urban settlements, and promote social inclusiveness, but with social challenges. It is therefore recommended that policymakers make UA a crucial aspect of their agenda in the coming years to address the local economic and climate challenges now and in the future.

Source: UG
Urban Air Pollution in Sub-Saharan Africa: Time for action.

Air quality in cities of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries has deteriorated with the situation driven by rapid population growth and its attendant increased vehicle ownership, increased use of solid fuels for cooking and heating, and poor waste management practices. Industrial expansion in these cities is also a major contributor to the worsening air pollution. Exposure to ambient air pollution is a major threat to human health in SSA with 176,000 deaths and 626,000 DALYs in the region attributable to ambient air pollution exposure. These estimates are however likely to be much higher than reported due to the limited data emanating from the region. Recently, the adoption of the World Health Assembly resolution on air pollution and health, and Sustainable Development Goals are a welcome boost for urban air pollution control efforts in SSA. In this article, we have outlined within the broad framework of these international policy instruments, measures for addressing urban air pollution and its associated health impacts in SSA sustainably.

Source: UG
Urban and peri-urban agriculture in developing countries studied using remote sensing and insitu methods

Urban farming, practiced by about 800 million people globally, has contributed significantly to food security and food safety. The practice has sustained livelihood of the urban and peri-urban low income dwellers in developing countries for many years. Its popularity among the urban low income in largely due to lack of formal jobs and as a means of adding up to household income. There is increasing need to sustainably manage urban farming in developing nations in recent times. Population increase due to rural-urban migration and natural, coupled with infrastructure developments are competing with urban farming for available space and scarce resources such as water for irrigation. Lack of reliable data on the extent of urban urban/peri-urban areas being used for farming has affected developing sustainable policies to manage urban farming in Accra. Using ground based survey methods to map the urban farmlands are inherently problematic and prohibitively expensive. This has influenced accurate assessment of the future role of urban farming in enhancing food security. Remote sensing, however, allows areas being used as urban farmlands to be rapidly established at relatively low cost. This paper will review advances in the use of remote sensing technology to develop an integrated monitoring technique for urban farmlands in Accra.

Source: UG
Urban development and poverty reduction – some institutional issues

It appears that the discussion on strategies to address poverty in rural and urban areas has been dominated by economists without adequate consideration of the difficult institutional issues that must be addressed for completeness. This paper focused on institutional issues confronting the urban sector. Specifically, three main objectives were achieved in this paper: (1)Provides a snapshot of the economic and social conditions of selected urban areas in Ghana; (2) Identifies some of the critical institutional issues confronting urban areas in Ghana, and (3) Suggests some policy directions that could be pursued to address the identified issues. The paper concludes that at the top of needed policy direction is political willingness and a genuine commitment to pro-poor policies which could be measured by the extent to which poor and vulnerable segments of the population in the urban areas are engaged in the process of visioning, planning, and implementing policies in support of urban development. In this process a horizontal integration between urban policy planners and adult education experts should be explored as a means to deepen stakeholders’ participation in poverty alleviation in the urban areas.

Source: UG
Urban encroachment in ecologically sensitive areas: drivers, impediments and consequences

The drivers and consequences of unregulated urban expansion processes in Accra, Ghana, are examined together with the associated encroachment upon ecologically sensitive areas in the city’s rapidly growing periphery. Three sites are considered which attracted settlers from vastly different economic segments of the urban population from the 2000s and onwards. A combination of geographical information system (GIS)-based analysis, evidence from a recent household survey, insights from a range of key informant interviews and field observations provide evidence for the dynamics of urban expansion and settlement consolidation. These dynamics wield significant pressure on ecologically sensitive areas, e.g. wetlands, riparian zones and coastal lagoons, which are transformed into housing development through drainage, landfilling, channelling of streams and construction of barriers. Encroachment upon ecologically sensitive areas is associated with intensifying flood hazards. Key impediments are identified for the preservation of ecologically sensitive areas within the specific urban governance context of Accra. Encroachment is not necessarily driven by poverty or low income; it occurs for several socio-economic situations. Governance and enforcement in planning need improvement. Such insights must inform efforts to promote more sustainable trajectories of urban expansion, allowing cities to accommodate rapidly growing populations while preserving ecologically sensitive areas and benefiting from crucial ecosystem services.

Source: UG
Urban Family Planning in Sub‑Saharan Africa: an Illustration of the Cross‑sectoral Challenges of Urban Health

The multi-sectoral nature of urban health is a particular challenge, which urban family planning in sub-Saharan Africa illustrates well. Rapid urbanisation, mainly due to natural population increase in cities rather than rural-urban migration, coincides with a large unmet urban need for contraception, especially in informal settlements. These two phenomena mean urban family planning merits more attention. To what extent are the family planning and urban development sectors working together on this? Policy document analysis and stakeholder interviews from both the family planning and urban development sectors, across eight sub-Saharan African countries, show how cross-sectoral barriers can stymie efforts, but they can also identify some points of connection which can be built upon. Differentiating historical, political, and policy landscapes means that entry points to promote urban family planning have to be tailored to the context. Such entry points can include infant and child health, female education and employment, and urban poverty reduction. Successful cross-sectoral advocacy for urban family planning requires not just solid evidence but also internal consensus and external advocacy: FP actors must consensually frame the issue per local preoccupations, and then communicate the resulting key messages in concerted and targeted fashion. More broadly, success also requires that the environment be made conducive to cross-sectoral action. example, through clear requirements in the planning

Source: UG
Urban Farm-Nonfarm Diversification, Household Income and Food Expenditure in Ghana

This paper investigates the impact of farm-nonfarm diversification (FND) on household income and food expenditure in urban Ghana using propensity score matching (PSM) technique to account for potential selection bias. We find diversified households to be statistically different from undiversified households in terms of household characteristics. Age, gender, educational attainment of the household head, household size, ownership of livestock and agricultural land, and receipt of miscellaneous and rent incomes are positive and significant determinants of FND in urban Ghana. In addition, we find that participation in both farm and nonfarm activities positively and significantly impacts household income and food expenditure. In the light of growing urbanization, with its implications for unemployment, poverty and food insecurity, we recommend diversification among urban households as a means of smoothing income and consumption.

Source: UG
Urban Farm-Nonfarm Diversification, Household Income and Food Expenditure in Ghana.

This paper investigates the impact of farm-nonfarm diversification (FND) on household income and food expenditure in urban Ghana using propensity score matching (PSM) technique to account for potential selection bias. We find diversified households to be statistically different from undiversified households in terms of household characteristics. Age, gender, educational attainment of the household head, household size, ownership of livestock and agricultural land, and receipt of miscellaneous and rent incomes are positive and significant determinants of FND in urban Ghana. In addition, we find that participation in both farm and nonfarm activities positively and significantly impacts household income and food expenditure. In the light of growing urbanization, with its implications for unemployment, poverty and food insecurity, we recommend diversification among urban households as a means of smoothing income and consumption.

Source: UG
The Urban Food Question in the Context of Inequality and Dietary Change: A Study of Schoolchildren in Accra

Diets are changing globally, as agricultural and food systems have become globalised. Understanding how patterns of globalisation affect welfare is a key development question, but we know little about the way that the globalisation of food systems impacts different groups. This study explores food security and consumption among schoolchildren in Accra. We use a novel approach based on triangulation of primary data on food consumption and a synthesis of secondary literature on food trade, policy and urban food environment. Thus, we bridge a divide between micro-level analyses of food consumption and macro-level studies of food systems. We find that socio-economic status is a critical dimension, with poorer children more vulnerable to food insecurity and narrow dietary diversity. However, the consumption of packaged and processed foods, often sugar-rich and nutrient-poor, cuts across wealth groups. We argue that the urban food question today is defined by two intersecting phenomena: inequality and dietary change. The urban poor continue to face the fundamental challenge of adequate food access amidst a food environment that provides consumers with unhealthy and cheap food options. Therefore, food policy needs to regulate imports of cheap, unhealthy and enticing food.

Source: UG
Urban food security and multi-spatial livelihoods in Ghana's medium sized cities: Does food transfer matter?

This study uses data from two medium sized cities in Ghana to analyse the importance and determinants of food transfer received from urban or rural households in Ghana. Several hypotheses are tested to establish whether participation in agriculture contributes to reducing a household's likelihood of receiving food transfers. The parameter estimates show that the participation of households in urban agriculture reduces their chances of receiving food transfers from other urban dwellers. Female headed households and ageing household heads had an increasing likelihood of receiving food transfers, all things being equal. Other findings from the article show that grains and tubers are the most received food groups, usually from rural and urban relatives. All (100 per cent) rural to urban and urban to urban food transfer receipts are found to be consumed by the receiving households while about a fifth of rural to urban transfers are given as gifts to other urban households. The article concludes that multispatiality and food transfer receipts are an important part of the urban household food basket that must be accounted for in urban food security discussions, taking into account city specific contexts.

Source: UG
Urban green area provides refuge for native small mammal biodiversity in a rapidly expanding city in Ghana

Urbanization is a key driver of global biodiversity loss. Although sub-Saharan African countries are experiencing unprecedented urbanization and urban expansion, very little is known about how this impacts tropical biodiversity. Here, we assessed the effects of urban expansion and urban green space on local small mammal species diversity in Accra, Ghana. We surveyed small mammals in the University of Ghana botanical garden, an urban green area (UGA) and adjoining built-up environment (BE) and compared the results with baseline data (BLD) collected when large areas of the current city still remained mostly undeveloped. The methodology involved live-trapping using Sherman collapsible live-traps. Our data showed higher small mammal abundance and diversity in the UGA than BE. Similarity of species composition was higher between UGA and BLD than between BE and BLD. The small mammal species captured in BE (the rodents Mastomys erythroleucus, Rattus rattus, and Arvicanthis rufinus, and the shrew Crocidura olivieri) are known to easily adapt to human-modified landscapes. Our results suggest that urbanization negatively influenced the abundance, diversity, and community composition of small mammals. Efforts should be directed towards the integration of urban green areas into urban land development planning in developing countries in order to conserve local wildlife and ecological services that enhance the quality of urban life.

Source: UG
Urban health in Africa: Looking beyond the MDGs

Achieving development and eliminating poverty are dependent on improving the health of populations, which are increasingly urban based. In this short paper we highlight the importance of context for understanding urban health in Africa, drawing in particular on the case of Ghana, and sketch out the implications of this new context in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The rise of non-communicable diseases in an African context, including those related to obesity, work environments and mental health, and how these are gendered is given particular prominence. It is essential that the SDGs reflect the changes that have taken place over the past 15 years in the location of populations and the associated configuration of health challenges, including their gendered nature. © 2015, Liverpool University Press. All rights reserved.

Source: UG
Urban household characteristics and dietary diversity: An analysis of food security in Accra, Ghana

BACKGROUND: The world's population is increasingly becoming urbanized. If the current urban growth rate is to continue, new and unprecedented challenges for food security will be inevitable. Dietary diversity has been used to ascertain food security status albeit at the multicountry and country levels. Thus, household-level studies in urban settings, particularly in sub-Sahara African, are few. Yet, it is imperative that assessments of food security are undertaken particularly in urban settings, due to the projected fast rate of urbanization and the challenges of attaining food security. OBJECTIVE: To examine household characteristics and dietary diversity. METHODS: The study uses data from 452 households from the second round of the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS) EDULINK urban poverty and health study. Bivariate and multivariate analyses are undertaken. RESULTS: Mean dietary diversity for all households is 6.8. Vegetables have the highest diversity, followed by cereal-based and grain products. Household characteristics that have statistically significant associations with dietary diversity include sex and level of education of household head, household wealth quintile, and source of food. CONCLUSIONS: There is high dietary diversity in the study communities of Accra but low consumption of foods rich in micronutrient, such as fruits and milk/dairy products. The study brings to fore issues related to resource-disadvantaged entities of the urban system, namely, females, poor households, and the non-educated who have food insecurity problems.

Source: UG
Urban households' engagement in agriculture: implications for household food security in Ghana's medium sized cities

Urban and peri-urban agriculture plays an important role in meeting the food and nutrition needs of those living in the increasingly urbanised cities in Africa. The extent and scope of the practise of urban and peri-urban agriculture differs from one city to another depending on the economic, environmental, socio-political, and contextual conditions at play. Using household data drawn from urban Techiman and Tamale in the Brong Ahafo and Northern regions of Ghana respectively, this paper descriptively analyses the contribution of households' engagement in agriculture on urban households' food security. The results show that, nearly half (43%) of urban residents are involved in the production of food either in the urban or rural areas or both, primarily for household consumption and sale of surplus produce. Households who do not engage in agriculture raise their cash incomes through engagement in informal businesses. The picture is however different for households that engage in urban and rural agriculture. For such households, income raised from agriculture (rural and urban combined) is the highest in both cities contributing nearly half (43%) and about a third (33%) of total cash incomes in Techiman and Tamale respectively. The results underscore the need to place the discussion on the contribution of urban agriculture to urban food security in the broader context of the different food production arrangements available to urban households, both in urban and rural areas. © 2017 Institute of Australian Geographers

Source: UG
Urban low-income housing development in Ghana: Politics, policy and challenges

Globally, the provision of adequate housing has become a huge challenge for national authorities in most developing countries. More people are becoming homeless, slums and squatter settlements are increasing as the provision of housing is left to the private sector. Urban low income housing provision has not been satisfactorily handled within the formal sector. Although governments have developed housing programs with the view of addressing urban low income housing in Ghana, the end products have been taken over by the middle to high income groups. Moreover, urban low income housing development in Ghana is not aligned to any housing policy but rather crops up in political manifestoes. They end up being abandoned and urban low income households continue to suffer the most. These households have to depend on individual petty landlords to cater for their housing needs. Urban low income housing is now being =facilitated' by government for the private sector to provide housing units. This system has not functioned effectively as the shortage of affordable housing in urban centers in Ghana keeps increasing. A qualitative research approach using reports, thesis, and population and housing censuses provided the information for this paper. It is recommended that urban low income housing should be handled proactively by policy makers without much political bias since it is households that suffer. Again, globally, urban low income housing is being considered as a social policy program which calls for more involvement of the public sector. At best there should be a public-private partnership to efficiently address urban low income housing in Ghana and other developing countries. Innovative housing forms such as multi-habited dwellings should be developed to meet the budget of the low income household instead of the colonial single-family dwellings which are more expensive to own.

Source: UG
Urban malaria and anaemia in children: A cross-sectional survey in two cities of Ghana

The Department of Parasitology conducts research into parasitic diseases of public health importance with the overall goal of reducing their transmission and the heavy disease burden that they impose on affected populations. The Department maintains focus on parasitic diseases in general. These include major diseases such as malaria, and others listed under the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) control initiative such as, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis.

Source: UG