ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Endemic infectious cutaneous ulcers syndrome in the Oti Region of Ghana: Study of cutaneous leishmaniasis, yaws and Haemophilus ducreyi cutaneous ulcers

The Epidemiology Department contributes to the mission of the institute through basic and applied epidemiological research on, but not limited to, malaria and other diseases of public health importance. It is also home to the Social Science Unit of the Institute, including the Health Support Centre for HIV/AIDS and other communicable and noncommunicable health problems.

Source: UG
Ending violence against women: Help-seeking behaviour of women exposed to intimate partner violence in sub-Saharan Africa

Introduction Intimate partner violence is a serious public health problem that transcends cultural bound aries in sub-Saharan Africa. Studies have reported that violence characteristics and percep tion are strong predictors of help-seeking among women. We assessed the prevalence and factors associated with help-seeking among female survivors of intimate partner violence in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods We pooled data from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of eighteen sub-Saharan African countries. The data were extracted from the women’s files in countries with datasets from 2014 to 2021. A weighted sample of 33,837 women in sexual relation ships: married or cohabiting who had ever experienced intimate partner violence within the five years preceding the survey were included in the analysis. Percentages with 95% confi dence interval (CI) were used to present the results of the prevalence of help-seeking for inti mate partner violence. We used a multilevel binary logistic regression analysis to examine the factors associated with help-seeking among survivors of intimate partner violence. The results were presented using adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with their respective 95% CI. Statis tical significance was set at p<0.05. Results Out of the 33,837 women who had ever experienced intimate partner violence in sub-Saha ran Africa, only 38.77% (95% CI = 38.26–39.28) of them sought help. Ethiopia had th lowest prevalence of women who sought help after experiencing intimate partner violence (19.75%; 95% CI = 17.58–21.92) and Tanzania had the highest prevalence (57.56%; 95% CI = 55.86–59.26). Marital status, educational level, current working status, parity, exposure to interparental violence, women’s autonomy in household decision-making, mass media exposure, intimate partner violence justification, wealth index, and place of residence were associated with help-seeking behaviour of intimate partner violence survivors. Conclusion The low prevalence of help seeking among women who have experienced intimate partner violence in sub-Saharan Africa calls for the intensification of formal and informal sources of assistance. Education can play a critical role in empowering girls, which may increase future help-seeking rates. Through media efforts aimed at parental awareness, the long-term ben efits of females enrolling in school could be achieved. However, concentrating solely on indi vidual measures to strengthen women’s empowerment may not bring a significant rise in help-seeking as far as patriarchal attitudes that permit violence continue to exist. Conse quently, it is critical to address intimate partner violence from the dimensions of both the indi vidual and violence-related norms and attitudes. Based on the findings, there should be public awareness creation on the consequences of intimate partner violence. Respective governments must increase their coverage of formal support services to intimate partner violence survivors especially those in rural communities.

Source: UG
Endocarditis due to aspergillus flavus

Fungal endocarditis has emerged as an important complication of patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery. Our patient had no past history of cardiac surgery, intravenous drug abuse or immunosuppressive therapy. He had received broad-spectrum antibiotics for varying periods, which might have predisposed him to this infection. The diagnosis was based on the demonstration of hyaline, septate branched fungal elements in the infected valvular tissue and isolation of Aspergillus flavus in culture. The delay in establishing the ante-mortem diagnosis because of repeatedly negative blood cultures, presence of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy and rapidly deteriorating kidney function were the major factors contributing to his poor prognosis and death, despite surgical removal of infected valves and antifungal therapy. This is the first report of endocarditis due to A. flavus from the Middle East.

Source: UG
Endoscopic evaluation of the colorectum in patients presenting with haematochezia at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra

Background: Colorectal endoscopy is the gold stan- dard investigation of the large bowel in patients with rectal bleeding and is employed as a means of secon- dary prevention of colorectal cancer. Aim: To determine the frequency of benign lesions and carcinomas in patients who underwent colorectal endo- scopy because of rectal bleeding and to evaluate the role of endoscopy in secondary prevention of colorectal carcinoma in our centre. Method: A retrospective study was undertaken on pa- tients who underwent colorectal endoscopy between January 1995 and December 2000 for rectal bleeding. Results: Five hundred and ninety six (596) patients were studied. Males were 403 and females 93, mean age 50.9 (SD 7.07). Three hundred and ten patients (52%) had rigid proctosigmoidoscopy, flexible sigmoi- doscopy 105 (17.6%) and colonoscopy 181 (30.4%). Of those who had colonoscopy complete examination of the colon was achieved in 55 patients (30.4%). Those in whom colonoscopy was incomplete had dou- ble contrast barium enema. Haemorrhoids were the commonest disease diagnosed, 316 patients (53%). Co- lorectal carcinoma 39 patients (6.7%), non-specific co- litis 34 patients (5.7%), diverticular disease 27 patients (4.5%) and adenomatous polyps 17 patients (2.9%) were the next common disease. Less common condi- tions were ulcerative colitis, rectal schistosomiasis and angiodysplasia. In 125 patients (21.0) the cause of bleeding could not be found. Conclusion: An appreciable number of the patients with rectal bleeding had serious pathology that was di- agnosed early by endoscopy confirming the important role of endoscopy in secondary prevention of colorectal carcinoma. The low success rate of full colonoscopy underscores the need for training in this procedure.

Source: UG
Endothelial Biomarkers and the Pathogenesis of Cerebral Malaria

Cerebral malaria occurs due to abnormality in the function of the brain endothelium. This signifies that the brain endothelium plays a crucial role in the outcome of malaria in children. Regulated balance between angiopoietin-1 and angiopoeitin-2 is responsible for the control of normal endothelial cell function. The angiopoietin-Tie-2 system has been shown to regulate endothelial cell function and vascular integrity. Endothelial Protein C Receptor (EPCR) and Thrombomodulin (TM) are receptors on the endothelium and are required for the activated protein C cellular pathway which is known to have some microvascular protective effects. Elevated serum or plasma TM and EPCR levels suggested to be due to endothelial damage have been shown to be found in diseases associated with systemic or locally increased levels of inflammatory cytokines such as malaria. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between Ang-1, Ang-2, sEPCR and sTM and the pathogenesis of P. falciparum malaria infection in children with circulating endothelial progenitor cells and circulating endothelial cells which are known to be responsible for endothelial repair when damage occurs. Children between the ages of 2 to 12 years presenting with CM or UM were recruited from 5 hospitals in Accra and healthy children within the same age range were also recruited as controls. In addition to clinical and haematological determinations, levels of Ang-1, Ang-2, sEPCR and sTM in the plasma of all subjects were measured using ELISA. It was found that Ang-1 levels were higher in the healthy children compared to children who had uncomplicated or cerebral malaria and was associated with immature EPC levels (P < 0.05). It was also found that soluble TM was highest in children in the cerebral malaria group compared to uncomplicated malaria and healthy control groups (P < 0.05). The study suggests that Ang-1 but not Ang-2 is a predictor of endothelial damage and EPC recruitment. Also sTM was found to be a predictor of endothelial damage.

Source: UG
 Enduring, ephemeral and emerging issues in public administration in Canada: Trends in Canadian Public Administration over 50 years (1958-2007)

This issue of Canadian Public Administration marks two landmarks. It is the 50th anniversary issue of the Journal, and it is the last issue to be published by the Institute of Public Administration of Canada. For this issue, we have not produced a ”special issue” in the sense of commissioning particular articles. Instead, we have brought together a number of articles that were already in the “pipeline” but that the editors thought made a particular contribution to public administration in Canada. This introductory article, or editor’s review, is a retrospective analysis of the content of the Journal. It would appear that while there has been a slight shift towards public policy and a greater concern with provincial and local administration, CPA has maintained an enduring interest in its core areas of administrative theory and political and legal institutions. The content is also compared with findings of the content of other journals and also other analyses of CPAT. This review is followed by commentaries by former editors and associate editors on their experiences with the Journal

Source: UG
Energy And Vulnerability: Exploring The Energy Poverty-Risky Sexual Behavior Nexus Among Young Women In Ghana

While recent policy agendas have extensively addressed both energy poverty and risky sexual behavior separately, little research has explored their intersection. This pioneering study investigates the relationship between energy deprivation and risky sexual behavior in female youth. Utilizing data from the Demographic and Health Survey in Ghana and employing robust methodologies, including the Lewbel two-stage regression and alternative energy deprivation thresholds, our findings reveal an 8.2–8.7% increase in the likelihood of female youth engaging in risky sexual activities for each percentage increase in energy poverty. Notably, these estimates hold consistent across different wealth terciles and location subgroups. Furthermore, we identify the number of lifetime partners as a potential mediator through which energy poverty influences risky sexual behavior. In In conclusion, our study emphasizes the urgent need for policymakers to prioritize the adoption of affordable energy services, particularly among impoverished and rural households. Such efforts have the potential to mitigate the adverse effects of energy poverty on risky sexual behavior. We also advocate for the integration of energy poverty eradication strategies within reproductive and sexual health programs to foster comprehensive development and well-being.

Source: UG
Energy Consumption and Economic Growth: Evidence from Ghana

The causal relationship between economic growth and energy consumption represents a widely studied topic in energy economics and interest in this area of research has increased because of global warming, oil price shocks and recent advancement in econometric methodology. Although it is very well known that there is a strong correlation between energy consumption and economic growth, the issue of “causality” still remains unanswered in Ghana. This study aims at investigating the possibility of the “energy demand - led growth” and “growth-driven energy demand” hypotheses in Ghana. Using annual data for the period 1975 - 2006 and the Vector Autoregression model (VAR), the study established that for Ghana, causality runs from economic growth to energy (electricity and petroleum) consumption. Possible explanation for this occurrence could be that in Ghana the major driver of economic growth is the agricultural sector whose energy consumption is low. The household sector consumes majority of electricity generated whiles most of the oil products are consumed by the transport sector. The implication is that, the industrial and service sectors that are supposed to be energy intensive through the use of advanced technologies and the major drivers of economic growth are not energy intensive and rarely drive growth. Rather, the agricultural sector drives growth although its energy consumption is quite minimal. Impulse response analysis revealed that it takes a longer time for shocks in economic growth on energy consumption to return to their long run equilibrium than it is for a shock in energy consumption on economic growth.

Source: UG
Energy consumption and economic growth: Evidence from the West African Sub Region

The availability of reliable energy supply to meet the demand of the growing population in West Africa is important for achieving not only economic growth but also meeting the sustainable development aspirations of the subregion. However, conflicting conclusions have been espoused on the energy-growth nexus with little information on the nexus in the sub-region. In this study we employ the panel cointegration techniques and data on total energy consumption, electricity consumption and petroleum consumption to establish the causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth for the seventeen countries in the West African sub region. The results indicate that in the short run, there is no causal relationship running from total energy, electricity and petroleum consumption to growth. However, there is a unidirectional relationship running from growth to electricity consumption indicating that conservation policies in electricity may not have effect on economic growth. In the long run however, electricity and petroleum consumption were found to have a positive and significant impact on growth suggesting that policy choices should focus on enhancing the generation of these types of energy. © 2018, Ecological Laboratory. All rights reserved.

Source: UG
Energy Consumption And Inclusive Growth In Sub-Saharan Africa: Does Foreign Direct Investment Make A Difference.

In line with the quest to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth, this paper examines the potential impact of energy consumption and foreign direct investment (FDI) and their interactive effect on inclusive growth for 32 Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries from 2000 to 2019. The results of the two-stage system generalised method of moment (2SGMM) show that energy consumption induces inclusive growth. However, there is evidence of a non-linear relationship between FDI and inclusive growth, where FDI dampens inclusive growth to a certain point and begins to induce it after that point. Notably, the results reveal that FDI can effectively form synergies with both renewable and non-renewable energy consumption to promote inclusive growth in SSA. Also, our empirical results from the GMM is robust to Diskroll and Kraay methodology, which caters for cross-sectional dependence. We recommend that African leaders focus on attracting FDI to finance their energy needs, partic ularly in the area of low-carbon or renewable energy sources, by leveraging private sector capital investments to achieve inclusive growth and also promote sustainable development.

Source: UG
Energy Consumption in Ghana and the Story of Economic Growth, Industrialization, Trade Openness and Urbanization

Energy has become increasingly very essential for the growth and development of every nation. However, in Ghana there is a shortfall of energy supply amidst growing demand. Using data from the World Bank Indicators, the study therefore investigates the impact of growth, industrialization, urbanization and trade openness on the energy consumption in Ghana. A Johansen cointegration test shows a long-run relationship exist among all the variables. In the short run, trade openness reduces energy consumption, while income and industrialization increases consumption. The coefficient of urbanization was found to be positive though was not significant. In the long-run trade openness and urbanization increased energy consumption while income reduces energy consumption. The error correction term shows an average or moderate speed of adjustment implying that after a shock from previous year; approximately 50% of the disequilibria from the previous year’s shock converge back to the long-run equilibrium in the current year. Conclusions and policy recommendations are provided.

Source: UG
Energy consumption intensity in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence and policies

The aftermath of the 1970 oil price shock coupled with rapid urbanization, rising population, industrialization and increased environmental degradation in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), have necessitated a shift of emphasis from energy consumption to a thorough investigation into energy consumption intensity. This notwithstanding, the evidence remains sparse for SSA as literature has not adequately examined the effects of SSA's economic growth process on energy intensity in the region and this is what the study addresses using a panel dataset from 1980-2010 covering 36 SSA countries. A system Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) estimation confirmed the existence of a U-shaped economic growth-energy consumption intensity nexus in SSA. Additionally, both urbanization and industrialization are found to increase energy consumption intensity while the contrary existed for FDI and trade. Inflation was not found to include the drivers of energy consumption intensity. Against these we discuss some policy options.

Source: UG
Energy Intensity and Convergence in Swedish Industry: A Combined Econometric and Decomposition Analysis.

How to reduce the carbon footprint associated with energy use is still a major concern for most decision-makers. Against this background, a better understanding of energy intensity—the ratio of energy use to output and its convergence could be important in the design of policies targeting the reduction in the carbon footprint related to energy use. This paper analyzes the determinants of energy intensity and tests for energy intensity convergence across 14 Swedish industrial sectors. This analysis builds on a nonparametric regression analysis of an intensity index constructed at the industry sector level as well as indices constructed from a decomposition of this index. The latter isolates two key determinants of changes in energy intensity and convergence patterns: the efficiency channel-fundamental improvement in the use of energy and activity channel-structural shifts in the economy. The empirical analysis relies on a detailed sectorial dataset covering the period 1990–2008. The findings indicate that input prices, including the price of energy, have been significant determinants of energy intensity in the Swedish industrial sectors. This effect can primarily be attributed to the efficiency channel and with a less profound influence from the activity channel. We also find evidence of energy intensity convergence among the industrial sectors, and this primarily stems from the activity channel rather than from the efficiency channel.

Source: UG
Energy poverty and public health: Global evidence

The impacts of energy poverty on a range of development goals have been widely examined in the literature; however, how energy poverty affects public health has yet to be studied. Using annual data for a broad panel of 175 countries over the period 2000 to 2018, this paper investigates the effect of energy poverty on public health. To identify the causal effect of energy poverty on public health and tackle the issue of endogeneity, we rely on Oster's (2019) bound analysis and the system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation. Our results show that energy poverty has a detrimental effect on public health. We also find that living standards can serve as a channel through which energy poverty influences health, and that countries with higher standards of living weaken the negative effect of energy poverty on public health. Our results are robust across various specifications and measures of health indicators. Our findings have important implications for policies in public health and transitions to renewable energy.

Source: UG
Energy saving behaviours of middle class households in Ghana, Peru and the Philippines

Demand-side management of energy seeks to foster energy efficiency investments and curtailment behaviour in households. The role of environmental concern and knowledge for both types of energy-saving behaviour has hardly been investigated in middle-income countries with growing middle classes and rising electricity demand. Drawing on unique household survey data from Ghana, Peru and the Philippines, this paper analyses the links from individual motivation to behaviour, and from behaviour to the impact on households' total electricity expenditures. We find that consumers with more environmental concern are more likely to adopt curtailment behaviors, but that concern does not influence energy efficiency investments. In turn, higher levels of environmental knowledge makes households' energy efficiency investments more likely but does not influence curtailment. Neither energy efficiency investments nor curtailment behaviours significantly impact households' electricity expenditures. Small differences between Ghana, Peru and the Philippines exist

Source: UG
Energy Security in West Africa: An Assessment of Ghana’s Implementation of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) and the Ecowas Renewable Energy Policy (EREP)

Energy security became critical in the past few decades when governments and inter-governmental organisations saw it prudent to ensure constant supply of energy for domestic and industrial consumption. This became pertinent after the devastating effect of global wars on energy supplies. With increased awareness of the significance of energy to the socio-economic development of nations, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) formed the West African Power Pool (WAPP) to integrate the electricity market of Member States. The ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy (EREP) was also introduced to facilitate the exploration of the renewable energy potentials of the sub-region. Under the WAPP and the EREP policy, Member States are required to harmonize their energy policies with regional energy frameworks. The study employed qualitative methods, using interviews and secondary data, to examine the extent to which Ghana’s national energy policies reflect that of the WAPP and the EREP, and evaluate their implementation, attendant challenges and implications for energy security. The study reveals that Ghana’s energy policies are consistent with regional energy frameworks. However, the implementation process is hindered by some challenges, chiefly financial and technical, affecting its ability to generate and export power at a competitive cost. As a result, the EREP's target of increasing renewable energy in the overall energy mix, excluding large hydro, to 10% by 2020 will be missed. In addition, the target to increase LPG for cooking to 36% by 2020 will be missed in rural communities but attainable in urban communities, where factors facilitating its usage are high. The study, therefore, recommends that Ghanaian authorities should adopt cost recovery and cost reduction measures, among others, to deal with the financial challenges of the power sector, explore alternative sources of funding for renewable energy projects due its high upfront cost and subsidise the cost of LPG for rural communities.

Source: UG