ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Making Democracy work? Quasi-Public Entities and the Drama of Elections in Ghana

Since Ghana made the transition to multiparty democracy in the early 1990s there has been a progressive improvement in electoral management and the acceptance by the political players of election results. Six successive elections have been held so far, with two crucial power alternations between two hostile political parties in 2001 and 2009. The 2012 elections presented an opportunity for the country to continue along the path of democratic consolidation. However, the outcome of the elections was vigorously disputed and contested in court by the main opposition party, nearly bringing the country to the brink of violence. This article makes a contribution to ongoing debates about why some elections pass peacefully and results are accepted, while others do not. Various studies have focused on the role of formal institutions in ensuring credible and fair elections. This article, however, emphasises the importance of informal institutions in explaining variationsin electoral outcomes and legitimacy in Ghana.

Source: UG
Making Development Assistance Work For Africa: From Aid-Dependent Disease Control To The New Public Health Order

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has revealed the fragility of pre-crisis African health systems, in which too little was invested over the past decades. Yet, development assistance for health (DAH) more than doubled between 2000 and 2020, raising questions about the role of and effectiveness of DAH in triggering and sustaining health system investments. This paper analyses the inter-regional variations and trends of DAH in Africa in relation to some key indicators of health system financing and service delivery performance, examining (1) the trends of DAH in the five regional economic communities of Africa since 2000; (2) the relationship between DAH spending and health system performance indicators, and (3) the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of aid substitution for domestic financing, policy-making, and accountability. Africa is diverse, and the health financing picture has evolved differently in its subregions. DAH represents 10% of total spending in Africa in 2020, but DAH has benefited Southern Africa significantly more than other regions over the past two decades. Results in terms of progress towards universal Health coverage (UHC) is slightly associated with DAH. Overall, DAH may also have substituted for public domestic funding and undermined the formation of sustainable UHC financing models. As the COVID-19 crisis hit, DAH did not increase at the country level. We conclude that the The current architecture of official development assistance (ODA) is no longer fit for purpose. It requires urgent transformation to place countries at the centre of its use. Domestic financing of public health institutions should be at the core of African social contracts. We call for a deliberate reassessment of ODA modalities, repurposing DAH on what it could sustainably finance. Finally, we call for a new, transparent framework to monitor DAH to capture its contribution to building institutions and systems.

Source: UG
Making food-related health taxes palatable in sub-Saharan Africa: lessons from Ghana

Amidst high burden of infectious diseases, undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are predicted to become the leading cause of death in Ghana by 2030. NCDs are driven to a large extent, by unhealthy food environments. Concerned, the Ghana Ministry of Health (MOH) has since 2012 sought to garner the support of all to address this challenge. We aimed to support the MOH in address the challenge through public health policy measures, but would soon be reminded that longstanding challenges to policy development such as data poverty and policy inertia needed to be addressed. To do this, we generated the needed evidence, curated the evidence, and availed the evidence to Ghanaian policymakers, researchers and civil society actors. Thus, we addressed the problem of data poverty using context-relevant research and policy inertia through advocacy and scholar activism. In this paper, we share how a public-interest coalition used context-relevant research, evidence-informed advocacy and scholar activism to valorise and increase demand for healthy food policy (including food-related health taxes) in Ghana.

Source: UG
Making International Policy: A Stern Look at Ghana’s Policies on Migration and Remittances

The relationship between migration, remittances and national development has been a hot topic amongst development thinkers, scholars and practitioners since the close of the last century. Better late than never, the topic made its debut in Ghana in the last few years. Ghana’s premier University has sustained the note by establishing in 2006, a Centre for Migration Studies. Drawing on the experiences of some Asian countries, some scholars are calling for a national agenda that focuses on the use of migration and remittances as a tool for national development. The silent argument being made is that, despite the many dangers inherent in a reliance on remittances, no developing country can afford to neglect remittances when they are much bigger and more stable than the Official Development Assistance (ODA) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and have been increasing more than proportionately compared to GDP and export earnings. In this article, I underline the growing importance of migration and remittances to the Ghanaian economy. I then discuss some formal and informal international policy making processes in Ghana, drawing out a critical disconnect between the patent, intuitive and rational international policy outcomes. I conclude by reflecting on what I consider to be attacks on Ghana’s national policy space which account for the brazen policy distortions and hint at what forebodes the evolution of national policy in a country that assumes that it is independent.

Source: UG
Making Meaning of the Colonial Experience: Reading Tings Fall Apart through the Prism of Alfred Schutz’s Phenomenology

Tis essay ofers a Schutzian reading of Achebe’s Tings Fall Apart, arguing that the so-called critical ambivalence in Chinua Achebe’s hermeneutic of the colonial experience makes sense if situated within his lived experiences in colonial Nigeria. Grounding its interpretation of Achebe’s meaning-making of the colonial experience in Schutz’s phenomenology, the essay begins with a close reading of the novel itself, highlighting signifcant areas of ambivalence. Next, it explicates Schutz’s (1967) constructs of intersubjectivity and phenomenology of literature. In the next section in which Achebe’s biography is examined, an attempt is made to show how a Schutzian reading of Achebe’s social relationships can help us understand his account of the colonial experience as represented in his frst novel. Ultimately, the paper concludes by noting that the ambivalence that charactterizes Tings Fall Apart refects the author’s realism and investment in both the African and European cultures he sought to critique.

Source: UG
Making North–South Collaborations Work: Facilitating Natural Product Drug Discovery in Africa

Many global North–South collaborations seek to address different aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Africa . The role of the North in these collaborations is crucial from a funding point of view. However, the realisation of the SDG objectives for Africa will depend largely on strategies that are guided by the successes and challenges of previous and existing collaborative efforts. Globally, Africa has the highest disease burden with the leading causes of morbidity and mortality being malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and AIDS and more recently, cardiovascular diseases , diabetes and cancer. Neglected tropical diseases are also causing long-term detrimental health effects, resulting in huge social and economic losses. Ironically, the continent is endowed with a huge biodiversity resource that has the potential to provide novel and potent drug candidates but remains largely unexplored partly due to financial and infrastructural challenges. Developing the scientific research capabilities of African institutions towards drug discovery through global networks is, therefore, an important component of improving health systems on the continent. This chapter examines experiences from three North–South collaborations—the Royal Society’s Leverhulme Trust Africa Award (LTAA), Newton Advanced Fellowships (NAF) and Cambridge-Africa Partnership for Research Excellence (CAPREx)—and proposes the adoption of structures that extend the current focus on skill transfer to include the building and maintenance of sustainable infrastructure. It is believed that these thoughts and suggestions could promote sustainable collaborative research to provide good health and well-being (SDG3), quality education (SDG4), relevant infrastructure (SDG9) and reduced inequalities (SDG10) in Africa .

Source: UG
The Making of a Sexual Being in Ghana: The State, Religion and the Influence of Society as Agents of Sexual Socialization

With the aim of generating in-depth information on society's expectations and views on sexual expression in Ghana, we present findings on what was expected of the state, religion, and the influence of society on sexual socialization in Ghana. As a society, our need to break the culture of silence about sex cannot be overemphasized. Our study is important against a background that in Sub-Saharan African, HIV and AIDS is mostly spread through sexual intercourse, and that the region bears a disproportionate large percentage of the world's HIV and AIDS burden. Although Ghana has a 2009 adult (15+ years) prevalence rate of 1.6% and a prevalence rate of 1.9% for persons 15-49 years old, some regions and sentinel sites show rather high rates, making HIV and AIDS issues of high concern nationally. Respondents from the general public, key informants and special groups across all three ecological zones of Ghana were purposively selected. All the interviewees agreed that in Ghana fidelity in all sexual relationships is highly valued and expected. However, there is gender discrimination in the application of such social norms of fidelity, in favor of males. Amongst the three agents of socialization studied, religion seemed to exert the most influence. Modernity interwoven with Christianity seem to have taken a great toll on such norms of sexual socialization. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Source: UG
Making primary school science education more practical through appropriate interactive instructional resources: A case study of Ghana

This instructional resource production project explored low cost and waste materials for developing practical and interactive resources for teaching science at the basic school level. Developing countries, including Ghana, are not able to provide teachers with instructional resources for teaching and learning due to financial constraints. Science in particular is a subject that pupils and students in Ghana generally do not perform well both at the basic and senior high levels which is evident from the end of level examinations over the years. The study used exploratory and descriptive approaches under qualitative research. Convenience sampling was used to select low cost and waste materials to work with, and observation was used to collect data from the production process. The research found that waste materials can be used safely to develop appropriate and useful instructional resources that are very practical for teaching and learning of science lessons. This research projects to science teachers that they can freely turn col lected waste and low-cost materials into useful resources for effective lessons.

Source: UG
Making real the dream of education for all through open schooling and Open Universities in Ghana

Although the last three decades have witnessed astronomical increases in enrollment in basic education, the challenges of access, equity, and quality continue to confront countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghana, education sector policies and reforms have been unable to deal with low transition rates from primary to junior high schools, from junior high schools to senior high schools, and from senior high schools to tertiary level. Children and young students who are unable to continue fail to reenter because of the absence of complementary or alternative pathways. The old paradigm of physical expansion continues to dominate policies of access. Although several developed and developing countries have used open schooling and open universities to widen access, the success of these programs has been found on strong policies, commitment of government, and huge investment in technology. Indeed, the future lies with open schooling and open universities. © The Author(s) 2014.

Source: UG
Making sense of health estimates

Epidemiological data provide the metrics from which burdens attributable to different diseases and conditions causing ill health can be estimated. Comprehensive, consistent, and coherent health estimates, together with information about any associated uncertainties, are indispensable for decision making by governments, non-governmental organisations, practitioners, and national and international funders in helping to gauge and track the changing demands and challenges presented by poor health. Estimates of disease burden are an essential platform for public health policy and priority setting, and for evaluating intervention programmes. Additionally, information about the effectiveness of interventions, their societal acceptability, side-effects, cost-effectiveness, and ultimate cost, are needed for the policy setting process. Here, we argue that in the absence of adequate primary health data collection, it is often reasonable to rely on best estimates of disease burden, derived from other sources and modelling, for national planning and other decision making purposes.

Source: UG
Making Spanish gender fair: a review of anti-sexist language reform attempts from a language planning perspective

More than four decades after the commencement of feminist linguistic activities, the author critically analyses the bottlenecks in the implementation of the European Spanish non-sexist language policies. Through the lenses of language planning, this study demonstrates that these obstacles are, firstly, the difficulty faced by feminist language planning in pervading the different domains and secondly, the limitations posed by language practices, beliefs and management. Other principal factors include inadequate attention to the role of local contexts in the implementation of gender-fair language. Using a survey, the author finally provides current data on speakers’ acceptance or rejection of non-sexist language alternatives. It also provides qualitative data on participants’ reaction to anti-sexist language reform attempts and discusses how these factors can be taken into consideration in feminist language planning.

Source: UG
Making Use of the Stage in West Africa: The Role of Audiences in the Production of Efficacious Theatre

The role of the audience is central to any live theatrical production. That role becomes even more crucial when theatre has an efficacious intent, as its efficacy is determined by the response it produces in the audience. This article discusses the role of the audience in the production of efficacious theatre, with particular reference to the West African context. It presents the West African situation, in which both playwrights and their audiences recognise a dual purpose for theatre: entertainment and education in equal measure. It examines some conditions under which theatre may achieve efficacy, and, with reference to theories of interpretation provided by two German theorists, Wolfgang Iser and Hans-Robert Jauss, suggests ways in which West African audiences may derive meaning from theatre performances.

Source: UG
Making West African languages relevant in the development process

Africa is home to over one-third of the world’s languages, i.e. 2000+ languages. Africa also plays ‘home’ to indigenised varieties of major European languages. Launching her Lordina Foundation in the US recently, the FLOTROG said ‘There is a direct link between poverty and lack of education’. I say, there is a direct link between non-exploration and mobilisation of indigenous values and knowledges conveyed through indigenous languages and snail-speed development or regression. My aim in this presentation is to demonstrate that a renaissance of indigenous languages is unfolding on the African continent. I shall draw illustrations from Tanzania, Malawi, Nigeria and Ghana policy debates, popular culture (Ghana’s Most Beautiful – tokenism?), film industries, and development in information technology. I shall propose that national politics and governance are in dire need of infusion exploration in order to transform the current 'democracy of the elite' in most of our countries to mass participatory and inclusive democracy.

Source: UG
Malaria and irrigated crops, Accra, 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
Malaria and typhoid fever among patients presenting with febrile illnesses in Ga West Municipality, Ghana

Background Clinicians in areas where malaria and typhoid fever are co-endemic often treat infected patients irrationally, which may lead to the emergence of drug resistance and extra cost to patients. This study determined the proportion of febrile conditions attributable to either malaria and/or typhoid fever and the susceptibility patterns of Salmonella spp. isolates to commonly used antimicrobial agents in Ghana. Methods One hundred and fifty-seven (157) febrile patients attending the Ga West Municipal Hospital, Ghana, from February to May 2017 were sampled. Blood samples were collected for cultivation of pathogenic bacteria and the susceptibility of the Salmonella isolates to antimicrobial agents was performed using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method with antibiotic discs on Mu¨ller Hinton agar plates. For each sample, conventional Widal test for the detection of Salmonella spp was done as well as blood film preparation for detection of Plasmodium spp. Data on the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the study participants were collected using an android technology software kobo-collect by interview. Results Of the total number of patients aged 2–37 years (median age = 6 years, IQR 3–11), 82 (52.2%) were females. The proportion of febrile patients with falciparum malaria was 57/157 (36.3%), while Salmonella typhi O and H antigens were detected in 23/157 (14.6%) of the samples. The detection rate of Salmonella spp in febrile patients was 10/157 (6.4%). Malaria and typhoid fever coinfection using Widal test and blood culture was 9 (5.7%) and 3 (1.9%), respectively. The isolates were highly susceptible to cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, and amikacin but resistant to ampicillin, tetracycline, co-trimoxazole, gentamicin, cefuroxime, chloramphenicol, and meropenem. Conclusion Plasmodium falciparum and Salmonella spp coinfections were only up to 1.9%, while malaria and typhoid fever, individually, were responsible for 36.3% and 6.4%, respectively. Treatment of febrile conditions must be based on laboratory findings in order not to expose patients to unnecessary side effects of antibiotics and reduce the emergence and spread of drug resistance against antibiotics.

Source: UG
Malaria care seeking behavior of individuals in Ghana under the NHIS: Are we back to the use of informal care?

Abstract Background Malaria is Ghana's most endemic disease; occurring across most parts of the country with a significant impact on individuals and the health system as whole. Treatment seeking for malaria care takes various forms. The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was introduced in 2004 to promote access to health services to mitigate the negative impact of the user fee regime. Ten years on, national coverage is less than 40% of the total population and patients continue to make direct payments for health services. This paper analyses the care-seeking behaviour of households for treatment of malaria in Ghana under the NHI policy. Method Using a cross-sectional survey of household data collected from three districts in Ghana covering the 3 ecological zones namely the coastal, forest and savannah, a multinomial logit model is estimated. The sample consists of 365 adults and children reporting being ill with malaria in the last four weeks prior to the study. Results Out of the total, 58% were insured and 71% of them sought care from a formal health facility. Among the insured, 15% chose informal care compared to 48% among the uninsured. The results from the multinomial logit estimations show that health insurance and travel time to health facility are significant determinants of health care demand. The results show that the insured are 6 times more likely to choose regional/district hospitals: 5 times more likely to choose health centres/clinics and 7 times more likely to choose private hospitals/clinics over informal care when compared with the uninsured. Individual characteristics such as age, education and wealth status were significant determinants of health care provider choice for specific categories of health facilities. Conclusion Overall, for malaria care the uninsured are more likely to choose informal care compared to the insured for the treatment of malaria.

Source: UG
Malaria care seeking behavior of individuals in Ghana under the NHIS: Are we back to the use of informal care? Global health

Background: Malaria is Ghana's most endemic disease; occurring across most parts of the country with a significant impact on individuals and the health system as whole. Treatment seeking for malaria care takes various forms. The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was introduced in 2004 to promote access to health services to mitigate the negative impact of the user fee regime. Ten years on, national coverage is less than 40% of the total population and patients continue to make direct payments for health services. This paper analyses the care-seeking behaviour of households for treatment of malaria in Ghana under the NHI policy. Method: Using a cross-sectional survey of household data collected from three districts in Ghana covering the 3 ecological zones namely the coastal, forest and savannah, a multinomial logit model is estimated. The sample consists of 365 adults and children reporting being ill with malaria in the last four weeks prior to the study. Results: Out of the total, 58% were insured and 71% of them sought care from a formal health facility. Among the insured, 15% chose informal care compared to 48% among the uninsured. The results from the multinomial logit estimations show that health insurance and travel time to health facility are significant determinants of health care demand. The results show that the insured are 6 times more likely to choose regional/district hospitals: 5 times more likely to choose health centres/clinics and 7 times more likely to choose private hospitals/clinics over informal care when compared with the uninsured. Individual characteristics such as age, education and wealth status were significant determinants of health care provider choice for specific categories of health facilities. Conclusion: Overall, for malaria care the uninsured are more likely to choose informal care compared to the insured for the treatment of malaria. © 2015 Fenny et al.; licensee BioMed Central.

Source: UG