ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
The decline in child mortality: A reappraisal

The present paper examines, describes and documents country-specific trends in under-five mortality rates (i.e., mortality among children under five years of age) in the 1990s. Our analysis updates previous studies by UNICEF, the World Bank and the United Nations. It identifies countries and WHO regions where sustained improvement has occurred and those where setbacks are evident. A consistent series of estimates of under-five mortality rate is provided and an indication is given of historical trends during the period 1950-2000 for both developed and developing countries. It is estimated that 10.5 million children aged 0-4 years died in 1999, about 2.2 million or 17.5% fewer than a decade earlier. On average about 15% of newborn children in Africa are expected to die before reaching their fifth birthday. The corresponding figures for many other parts of the developing world are in the range 3-8% and that for Europe is under 2%. During the 1990s the decline in child mortality decelerated in all the WHO regions except the Western Pacific but there is no widespread evidence of rising child mortality rates. At the country level there are exceptions in southern Africa where the prevalence of HIV is extremely high and in Asia where a few countries are beset by economic difficulties. The slowdown in the rate of decline is of particular concern in Africa and South-East Asia because it is occurring at relatively high levels of mortality, and in countries experiencing severe economic dislocation. As the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues in Africa, particularly southern Africa, and in parts of Asia, further reductions in child mortality become increasingly unlikely until substantial progress in controlling the spread of HIV is achieved.

Source: UG
Decoding the persistence of galamsey in Ghana: The meta-contradictions of neutered law

Background: There is a lack of consensus on the appropriate regime for socio-political regulations regarding galamsey. In this context, people with unrestrained pecuniary ambitions defy or evade laws enacted to curb galamsey, thereby rendering them neutered even when violently enforced. Objectives: This study aimed to demonstrate that the failure of the Government of Ghana to curtail galamsey is due to the clash of ethnic group customs and national laws, thereby generating a meta-contradiction of governance principles in galamsey enclaves. Methods: The study was framed by the notion of the contact zone, namely the coexistence of different principles of socio-political regulation. Areas with galamsey are unstable contact zones of anomie, and those without them are stable synonymic contact zones. The study was qualitative ethnographic research based on primary data generated from individual interviews and focused group discussions with respondents recruited through a chain-link strategy in the communities of Akyem Asunafo and Akyem Kwabeng in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Results: Akyem Kwabeng demonstrated the trait of an unstable anomic contact zone with its relatively weak customary norms. It was a galamsey enclave with a destroyed ecology. This study also used secondary information on Tanchara in the Upper West Region. Akyem Asunafo is found to be a stable synonymic contact zone, upholds traditional principles of governance, has no galamsey, and its ecology is pristine. Conversely, Tanchara, an unstable contact zone, used its customary norms to stem galamsey and protect its environment. Conclusions: It will be prudent for the GoG to acknowledge the superior eco-regulatory capacity of chiefs and norms of traditional eco governance and facilitate the conclusion of Green Social Contracts (GSCs) rooted in customary principles of ecological governance in galamsey enclaves.

Source: UG
Decolonising Mind and Being Associated with Marriage: Perspectives from Ghana

Colonialism was not only a political imposition but also a cultural one that both affected and infected institutions and ways of knowing and being of colonised societies. The vestiges of colonial power that originated during the colonial period of European global dominance, persistent influence minds and behaviours associated with the institution of marriage through the axes of meta-colonialism and represent forms of epistemic violence against indigenous people. The depiction of modern colonial mentalities about marriage (e.g., the so-called White wedding) as an optimal expression of human nature and love—and thus a key to personal happiness—have become part of the Ghanaian/African cultural experience. For example, Eurocentric practice of White wedding has been systematically naturalised and pushed down on Ghanaian and African people as the most enlightened, valid and standard form of marriage, supplanting the indigenous and ancestral forms of knowledge and being associated with marriage. Drawing insights from cultural psychology, we discuss the coloniality of mind and being associated with marriage. particularly the popular practice of White wedding, and examine how marriage practices in Ghana have become associated with Western social, cultural and economic interests propagated by colonial discourses of modernity, social change and development. We argue that the valorisation of European White wedding and the inferiorization of African traditional marriage practices are corollaries of colonial and metacolonial narratives that promote (d) White normativity. We posit that psychological knowledge and practice, informed by Western ontologies and epistemologies, provided ideological support for colonisation and the perpetration and perpetuation of scientific racism. We thus contend that, given its complicity, the present discipline of scientific psychology cannot be an effective tool to dismantle the ill-effects of past and present unequal power relationships that resulted from colonisation. A decolonial psychological science that enables critical consciousness and serves as a necessary catalyst for liberating minds and beings is thus required.

Source: UG
Decolonising the Discourse on Resilience

This article presents a discursive critique of the Eurocentric paradigms of knowledge production that characterise much of the underlying logics in the age of neoliberal discourses on resilience, pointing out important areas not given sufficient attention. In particular, it highlights the limits of the modernist ontology of resilience, whereby extremely “vulnerable” African communities are encouraged “to become resilient” to climatic disruption and environmental catastrophe and to “bounce back” as rapidly as possible. The article moves the discussion forward, drawing from critical decolonial approaches, in alignment with Indigenous knowledges, to question and rethink meaningful alternative ontologies, ways of knowing and being, in adaptive governance. I argue that the recognition of the plurality of many worlds, rather than one world, highlighted through critical decolonial understandings of epistemic forms with Indigenous knowledges, can be counterposed to Western universality as an innovative ontology to decentre the world order in the problematic dominant development of resilience thinking.

Source: UG
Decolonizing African Universities: The Case of South Africa. Lessons ‘FromAfrica’and the African Diaspora.

The past twenty years of our liberation have disappointed and failed African research and scholarship in South African higher education institutions. In this article, I provide examples of how we have failed to transform the higher education sector. The first example is drawn from two fieldwork studies I conducted at the Universities of Ghana, Legon and of Dar es Salaam on the subject of curriculum and content in higher education in Africa. At liberation, Kwame Nkrumah and Mwalimu Nyerere, founding Presidents of Ghana and Tanzania, respectively, were clear about what they wanted the role of the university and education to be in their independent countries. Nkrumah asked if the university would be permitted to proceed in its established pattern. And the answer for Nkrumah was a confident “No.” A radical shift away from the courses and degree structure already established at the University of Ghana, Legon was required. The President of Ghana knew that the function of the university in the postcolonial period was to study the history, culture and institutions, languages, arts, and heritage of Ghana and of Africa in new African-centred ways, free from the proportions of the colonial era. For Tanzania, “our first step,” said Nyerere, “must be to re-educate ourselves; to regain our former attitude of mind”; he spoke “of the need for an African university to provide an “African-orientated education,” an education aimed to meet “the present needs of Africa.”11 The point I make with Ghana and Tanzania is that there was a bold commitment to radically change the direction of their education systems that was absent in South Africa at the time of our liberation in 1994 (p.1).

Source: UG
Decolonizing posthumanism: Indigenous material agency in generative STEM

This paper describes a decolonial perspective on material agency in the context of STEM education and application. Using the framework of generative STEM, we engaged in case studies with African, African American, South American, and Native American educational communities. This research shows that understanding material agency based on Indigenous knowledge systems can open a rich source of research and education content. Using a suite of simulations and culturally Situated Design Tools, we apply this body of research to the classroom. One important theoretical conclusion is the contrast to a “content agnostic” position. A generative framework instead offers a robust blend of user agency and instructional guidance. The outcomes indicate statistically significant and notable improvement in STEM skills and interests. We conclude with a contrast to the quantum epistemology approach to posthumanism. We show that the Indigenous material agency framework in generative STEM is a better fit for decolonial aspirations and that it offers a more transformative vision for the potential role of STEM in transitioning from an extractive to a generative economy.

Source: UG
A decomposition analysis of change in skilled birth attendants, 2003 to 2008, Ghana demographic and health surveys

Background: The single most critical intervention to improve maternal and neonatal survival is to ensure that a competent health worker with midwifery skills is present at every birth, and transport is available to a referral facility for obstetric care in case of an emergency. This study aims to describe changes in percentage of skilled birth attendants in Ghana and to identify causes of the observed changes as well as the contribution of different categories of mother's characteristics to these changes. Method: This study uses two successive nationally representative household surveys: the 2003 and 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys (GDHS). The two datasets have comparable information on household characteristics and skilled attendants at birth at the time of the survey. The 2003 GDHS database includes information on 6,251 households and 3639 live births in the five years preceding the survey, whereas the 2008 GDHS database had information on11, 778 households and 2909 live births in the five years preceding the survey. A decomposition approach was used to explain the observed change in percentage of skilled birth attendants. Random-effects generalized least square regression was used to explore the effect of changes in population structure in respect of the mother's characteristics on percentage of skilled birth attendants over the period. Results: Overall, the data showed absolute gain in the proportion of births attended by a health professional from 47.1% in 2003 to 58.7% in 2008, which represents 21.9% of gap closed to reach universal coverage. The increase in skilled birth attendants was found to be caused by changes in general health behaviour. The gain is regardless of the mother's characteristics. The structural change in the proportion of births in respect of birth order and mother's education had little effect on the change in percentage of skilled birth attendants. Conclusion: Improvement in general health behaviour can potentially contribute to an accelerated increase in proportion of births attended by skilled personnel in Ghana. © 2014 Bosomprah et al.

Source: UG
Decomposition And Insect Succession Pattern Of Exposed Domestic Pig (Sus Scrofa L.) Carrion

Pig carrion decomposition and insect succession patterns were monitored in the dry and wet seasons at the University of Ghana, Legon in the Greater Accra Region. The sequence and composition of the local carrion visiting fauna, as well as, the rate of decomposition of the carrion and their determinant climatic factors were measured. The complete decomposition of the carrion lasted 16 and 24 days for dry and wet season, respectively. Five stages of decomposition of the cadaver namely the fresh, bloated, active decay, advanced decay and dry remains were observed. In total, 19 species of insects from 14 families: Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Dolichopodidae, Gasterophilidae, Formicidae, Histeridae, Dermestidae, Cleridae, Lycidae, Staphilinidae, Pyrrhocoridae, Saturniidae and Therevidae were collected. A few species from the family Ixodidae (Arachnidae) were also collected during the decomposition of the carrion. On account of their activity and frequency, the Calliphorid species, Lucilia rufifacies were the insects of greatest forensic importance. These blowflies were the early colonizers of the carrion in both seasons and remained throughout the decomposition process. Temperature, though important in controlling decomposition rates of carrion, could not account for the differences in decomposition rates observed between the two seasons. Rainfall delayed colonization of carrion during both seasons and this might have played a major role in the delayed rate of degradation observed during the wet season. The succession patterns were typical for the seasonal periods and provide data on baseline fauna important for estimating postmortem interval in cases of human death in Ghana.

Source: UG
Deconstructing &quot;malaria&quot;: West Africa as the next front for dengue fever surveillance and control

Presumptive treatment of febrile illness patients for malaria remains the norm in endemic areas of West Africa, and "malaria" remains the top source of health facility outpatient visits in many West African nations. Many other febrile illnesses, including bacterial, viral, and fungal infections, share a similar symptomatology as malaria and are routinely misdiagnosed as such; yet growing evidence suggests that much of the burden of febrile illness is often not attributable to malaria. Dengue fever is one of several viral diseases with symptoms similar to malaria, and the combination of rapid globalization, the long-standing presence of Aedes mosquitoes, case reports from travelers, and recent seroprevalence surveys all implicate West Africa as an emerging front for dengue surveillance and control. This paper integrates recent vector ecology, public health, and clinical medicine literature about dengue in West Africa across community, regional, and global geographic scales. We present a holistic argument for greater attention to dengue fever surveillance in West Africa and renew the call for improving differential diagnosis of febrile illness patients in the region. © 2014 The Authors.

Source: UG
Deconstructing the dichotomies of solar photovoltaic (PV) dissemination trajectories in Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe from 1960s – 2007

The profuse dissemination and utilisation of solar PV technology in the world is indispensable, especially in this era of climate change. However, in the African continent, between 1960 and 2007 Kenya and Zimbabwe were among countries with the highest PV dissemination, while Ghana was among countries with the least disseminations. Analysing empirical data through the lens of the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) theory, the article aims to uncover the drivers underpinning the disparate dissemination trends of PV in the three countries within the stated period and to tease out lessons apropos replicating the successes within Kenya and Zimbabwe in Ghana. SCOT theory is chosen because it provides an excellent framework for analysing the social shaping of PV's development and diffusion processes in these countries. This theory posits that the shape and meanings of a technology do not reside in it, but are acquired through the heterogeneity of social interactions. Findings in the paper reveal that a gamut of socio-economic and political antecedents informed the varied dissemination outcomes of the technology in these countries. Premised on these findings, the paper recommends critical steps, which Ghana needs to undertake to enhance the replication of the Kenyan and Zimbabwean PV success stories.

Source: UG
Deconstructing the use and disposal of plastic bags in Tema community one township in Ghana: implications for policy discourse on plastic bags waste management

Population increase coupled with rapid urbanisation and industrialisation in developing countries, come with the challenges of waste creation and management. The proper disposal and management of the different types of waste generated are indispensable to ensuring the healthiness of human beings and sound environmental media. This article investigates consumers' attitudes towards the use of plastic bags, their level of awareness of the hazards posed by the indiscriminate disposal of these plastic bags and the roles institutions play in their proper management in Tema Community One Township in Ghana. Using an eclectic approach (quantitative and qualitative instruments) supported by the Innovation Diffusion Theory, with a total sample size of one hundred (100) respondents (ninety-four (94) consumers and six (6) institutions), the paper unravelled a web of inter connectedness between plastic bags reuse and disposal practices vis-a-vis various socio-demographic factors especially, gender, education and occupations. The paper also unearthed the inadequacy of available policy instrument that directs the proper management of plastic bags waste, while technologies on recycling, reuse, reduction and recovery still remain at exploratory stages. These have implications on the environment especially, with the increasing population, urbanisation and slum development. Lessons emerging from this paper include the indispensability of composing a robust plastic bags waste management policy, a revision of the old bye-laws and the utilisation of multiple environmental instruments including, moral suasion and incentivasation in plastic bags waste management

Source: UG
Decreased cysteine and glutathione levels: Possible determinant of liver toxicity risk in Ghanaian subjects.

Cysteine, methionine, vitamin A, beta-carotene and glutathione (GSH) are known to protect body tissues against oxidative damage and inflammation but their value as protection against liver inflammation in tropical areas has received little attention. Blood levels of these nutrients were measured in Ghanaian volunteers with (Group 2) or without (Group 1) increased lipid peroxidation and signs of liver inflammation, as indicated by blood malonic dialdehyde, serum alpha 1-antitrypsin and triglyceride levels, and the alpha 1-acid glycoprotein:pre-albumin ratio. Serum levels of cysteine and blood glutathione were significantly lower (P < 0.02) in group 2 than in group 1 volunteers. In contrast, serum levels of methionine, vitamin A and beta-carotene were similar in both groups. Deficits in cysteine and glutathione may increase the risk of liver toxicity from oxidants in Ghanaians.

Source: UG
Decreased Influenza Activity During The COVID-19 Pandemic In Ghana, 2020

Most research activities involve the use of molecular methods such as regular PCR (PCR), quantitative PCR (Q-PCR), genomic sequence and analysis using different software, genetic engineering, probe hybridization techniques, biological and molecular cloning, evaluation of immune markers for laboratory diagnosis of infections, serological assays involving the use of rapid tests, ELISA-based evaluations and immunofluorescent assay techniques.

Source: UG
Dection, measurement and prediction of shoreline recession in Accra, Ghana.

Coastal mapping, using various data capture and feature extraction techniques, has furthered understanding of trends in shoreline evolution by allowing calculation of accurate historic rates of change that subsequently enable the prediction of future shoreline positions through different modeling procedures. The results have helped influence coastal policy formulation and promoted the development of sustainable management practices in coastal regions throughout the developed world. However, sustainable coastal management is rarely practiced in developing countries, one of the fundamental reasons for this being a general lack of reliable and accurate historic data on shoreline position. Previous studies on the Ghanaian coastal region of Accra, where accurate and reliable geospatial data for analysis is secure, have reported erosion rates of anything between two and eight metre per year. This high level of inconsistency in reported rates has hindered effective and sustainable coastal management. The research reported in this paper addresses this issue, using mapping data from 1904, 1974, 1996 and 2002 to estimate, by linear regression, shoreline recession in the Area region. Predictions for the next 250 yr. were then undertaken using a variety of techniques ranging from a process-based numerical model, SCAPE, to geometric approaches including historical trend analysis, the modified Bruun model and Sunamura’s shore platform model. Uncertainties in the various input data were accounted for, including historic recession rates, rock strength, sediment content and, importantly, future seal-level rise under different climate change scenarios. The mean historic rate of erosion in the Accra region was found to be 1.13 m/yr. (0.17) m/yr.), significantly less than previously reported, though still very high. Subsequent predictions were used to identify a series of significant economic, ecological and social features at risk, and to estimate when they will most likely be lost to erosion if left unprotected. The case study illustrates that, provided suitable predictive models are selected and the uncertainties involved in working with limited data sets are dealt with appropriately, it is possible to provide statistical information in support of sustainable coastal management for developing countries in the face of a changing climate.

Source: UG
Deeds of distinction the story of Madam Agnes Adwoa Afra

The narrative presents a case of the silencing and marginalization of the contributions of the many rural women, whose efforts help to improve human life and meaning. Madam Agnes Adwoa Afra’s life story and experience should serve as a cogent reminder to women and gender activities across this country, Ghana, that women who show exceptional performance in offering humanitarian and other services are present in every segment of our society. Madam Adwoa Afra has spoken for many by sharing her life story. This narrative piece highlights the need to search for the many women in rural settings in many women in rural settings in many parts of Ghana whose remarkable activities and service are often unheard of, unacknowledged and/or not unrecognized. Whether other women of her like, with such strong values within our rural communities will share the joy of nationwide acknowledgement and documentation of their activities would greatly depend on the efforts of gender activists, who owe them the duty to bring them to limelight. In this biographical study, which represents a conversation and discussions on their life and deeds, Madam Agnes Adwoa Afra share her experiences as a farmer, parent, role model, philanthropist and humanitarian.

Source: UG