ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Livelihoods in motion: linking transport, mobility and income-generating activities

During the past decade, there has been an increased focus on mobility in the social sciences linked to the so-called ‘mobility turn’, which claims that as mobility is so pervasive it should not be viewed as a rupture in society but as a normal way of life. This is certainly the case in urban contexts of sub-Saharan Africa where mobility forms an integral part of livelihood and income-generating activities. Drawing on in-depth qualitative research conducted in Accra, the capital of Ghana, this paper explores the mobility of urban residents in differing parts of the city in relation to their livelihood strategies. Through illustrating the ways in which the mobility of urban residents is aided or hindered by Accra's transport system, and by examining how this in turn influences their livelihood strategies, the paper contributes to an alternative new mobilities paradigm that is more considerate of, and builds upon insights from, the global South where such research has a longer pedigree than in the global North.

Source: UG
Livelihoods in risk: Exploring health and environmental implications of e-waste recycling as a livelihood strategy in Ghana

Ghana's pursuit of socio-economic growth has necessitated joining the information communication technology (ICT) revolution, thus increasing the consumption and obsolescence rate of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and the creation of what is popularly called e-waste. The absence of legislation governing its importation and disposal, combined with the dynamics of Accra's urban economy, including neo-liberal policies and lack of formal job opportunities, has triggered people's ingenuity to engage in novel occupations such as e-waste recycling. Though a lucrative strategy, it comes with a price for those involved: environmental health risks, a fact well articulated by a burgeoning literature. Nevertheless, little empirical evidence exists relating to this perceived relationship. Using questionnaires, FGDs and in-depth interviews, this study fills the lacuna. The findings reveal that the mean daily income of an e-waste worker is GH¢30, far above the daily minimum wage of GH¢4·48. Despite the positives, the findings also show that the environment and health can be compromised. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013.

Source: UG
Liver cirrhosis in sub-Saharan Africa: neglected, yet important

Clinical efforts and research on liver diseases have been scarce in sub-Saharan Africa. The first Conference on Liver Disease in Africa (Nairobi, Sept 13–15, 2018), gathering all stakeholders from the continent, is a welcome step towards greater attention to the problem, and the important issue of liver cirrhosis. Cirrhosis-related deaths doubled in sub-Saharan Africa between 1980 and 2010, and the Central African Republic, Gabon, Malawi, Uganda, and Cote d'Ivoire were among the highest 10% of countries for these deaths in 2010.1 Most cases of cirrhosis were attributed to hepatitis B virus (HBV), alcohol misuse, and hepatitis C virus (HCV), but around 30% were unrelated to these causes.1 The understudied non-alcoholic fatty liver disease probably has a role in these latter cases, considering the increase in obesity in sub-Saharan Africa, and traditional herbal medicine could also contribute, because its use is associated with a substantial increase in liver fibrosis.

Source: UG
Liver Transplantation in Patients with Alcoholic Liver Disease: A Retrospective Study

Aim: Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is the most common liver disease in the Western World. Liver transplantation (LT) is the treatment for end-stage ALD. However, many transplant centers are still reluctant to transplant these patients because of the risk of alcohol relapse, recurrence of the primary liver disease and associated post-transplant complications. We examined survival rate, prevalence of primary liver disease recurrence, re-transplantation and post-transplant complications among transplanted patients for alcoholic cirrhosis compared with those transplanted for viral cirrhosis. Methods: data about patients transplanted for alcoholic and viral cirrhosis at the Gemelli Hospital from January 1995 to April 2016 were retrospectively collected. Survival rate was evaluated according to the Kaplan-Meier method. Recurrence was defined as histological evidence of primary liver disease. Data on the onset of complication, causes of death and graft failure after liver transplant were analyzed. Results: There was no statistically significant difference regarding survival rate between the two groups. Only patients transplanted for viral cirrhosis presented with primary liver disease recurrence. There was a higher rate of cancer development in patients transplanted for alcoholic cirrhosis. Cancer was the major cause of death in this population. Risk factors associated with the onset of cancer were a high MELD score at the transplant time and smoking after transplantation. Conclusion: ALD is a good indication for LT. Patients transplanted for alcoholic cirrhosis should receive regular cancer screening and should be advised against smoking.

Source: UG
Livestock ownership and microbial contamination of drinking-water: Evidence from nationally representative household surveys in Ghana, Nepal and Bangladesh

Background Current priorities for diarrhoeal disease prevention include use of sanitation and safe water. There have been few attempts to quantify the importance of animal faeces in drinking-water contamination, despite the presence of potentially water-borne zoonotic pathogens in animal faeces. Objectives This study aimed to quantify the relationship between livestock ownership and point-of-consumption drinking-water contamination. Methods Data from nationally representative household surveys in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Ghana, each with associated water quality assessments, were used. Multinomial regression adjusting for confounders was applied to assess the relationship between livestock ownership and the level of drinking-water contamination with E. coli. Results Ownership of five or more large livestock (e.g. cattle) was significantly associated with drinking-water contamination in Ghana (RRR = 7.9, 95% CI = 1.6 to 38.9 for medium levels of contamination with 1–31cfu/100 ml; RRR = 5.2, 95% CI = 1.1–24.5 for high levels of contamination with >31cfu/100 ml) and Bangladesh (RRR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.3–4.5 for medium levels of contamination; non-significant for high levels of contamination). Ownership of eight or more poultry (chickens, guinea fowl, ducks or turkeys) was associated with drinking-water contamination in Bangladesh (RRR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.1–2.0 for medium levels of contamination, non-significant for high levels of contamination). Conclusions These results suggest that livestock ownership is a significant risk factor for the contamination of drinking-water at the point of consumption. This indicates that addressing human sanitation without consideration of faecal contamination from livestock sources will not be sufficient to prevent drinking-water contamination. © 2017 The Authors

Source: UG
Livestock ownership, household food security and childhood anaemia in rural Ghana

The mechanisms through which livestock ownership is associated with childhood anaemia are contested. Using a cross-sectional, community-based survey of 300 households in southern Ghana, we determined the associations of household livestock ownership with anaemia among children aged 2–5 years. Potential mediating effects of animal-source food (ASF) consumption, microbial infections, and household food security were investigated. Data on each child’s anaemia, malaria, and intestinal infections were collected for a subset of 221 households. Anaemia was defined as a haemoglobin (Hb) concentration <110 g/L. ASF consumption was measured as a count of the number of different ASF types consumed by each child in the week prior to the interview. Household food security was measured with a 15-item, pre-tested tool adapted from the USDA Household Food Security Core Module. The number of sheep and goats in aggregate was associated with higher odds of a child being anaemic (aOR (95% CI) = 1.10 (1.03, 1.17)). Households owning more free-range poultry had greater diversity of consumed ASFs among children (Coef. (95% C) = 0.02 (0.01, 0.03)). Owning more pigs was associated with higher odds that a household was food secure (1.05 (0.99, 1.12). We found no evidence that the child’s ASF consumption mediated the association of livestock ownership with child anaemia, however,household food security mediated the association between household pig ownership and child anaemia. Overall, household ownership of livestock was associated with higher ASF consumption among children and improved household-level food security, yet also a higher odd of anaemia among those young children. The mechanisms leading to these seemingly counterintuitive relationships require further investigation.

Source: UG
Livestock Production and Browse use by Traditional Agro-Pastoralists in the Coastal Savannah Rangelands of Ghana

The Savannah region of Ghana is the main livestock rearing area of the country and produces the bulk of the country’s meat and milk. However, nutrition of ruminant livestock is seriously limited in the dry season and during this period, fodder trees and shrubs provide the necessary supplements to poor grass availability. The study aimed at establishing the extent of utilisation of browse and their importance to livestock keepers. Browse used by pastoralists in the Dangme East and North Tongu in the Eastern Coastal Savannah rangelands were identified and ranked by means of structured questionnaire interviews with fifty-eight pastoralists. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Twenty-five browse species were identified, many of them indigenous trees. Griffonia, Fagara and Millettia were ranked as the most important browses. Browse was mainly used in the dry season and for small ruminants. The ranking reflected the availability and nutritive value of browse. Livestock keepers are likely to be more interested in trees and shrubs with multiple uses including browse.

Source: UG
Living outside the law. Translation, language and the law in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Language can be said to interact with the law in two ways: as legal language and as language of the law. Legal language refers to legalese or the specialized sublanguage used by legal professionals such as lawyers and judges (Sarscevic, 2007). On the other hand, language of the law refers to the natural language-culture of the jurisdiction (the sum of all idiolects of a language community). Both legal language and language of the law are system-specific (Legrand, Sarcevic, 2007, De Groot and van Lair, 2006; Tiesma, 1999, Gemar, 1995). Legal language is a subset of the language of the law. While native language speakers know the language of the law (French for the French civil law and English for the English common law), they resort to the services of lawyers in order to understand legal language. This paper theorizes that in jurisdictions where the native language is both legal language and language of the law, citizens are generally more “law-conscious” and therefore more law-abiding. Conversely, in jurisdictions such as pertains in Africa where a foreign language is both the legal language and language of the law (and where majority of people do not know the foreign language), citizens are generally law-unconscious and tend to live outside the law. The former generally correlates with orderly, stable, secure, accountable and prosperous societies while the latter generally correlates with widespread lawlessness, impunity, instability, insecurity and underdevelopment. There is an incentive for translating the law into native/indigenous African languages. However, translating the law into all Ghanaian/African languages is a very expensive venture. The author looks to the EU for the balance between “universal translation” (Koskinen, 2000) and “selective translation” (Koskinen, 2000) of the law.

Source: UG
Living with Bats: The Case of Ve Golokuati Township in the Volta Region of Ghana

Ayivor, J.S., Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies (IESS), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 209, Legon, Accra, Ghana; Ohemeng, F., Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, College of Humanities, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 72, Legon, Accra, Ghana; Tweneboah Lawson, E., Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies (IESS), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 209, Legon, Accra, Ghana; Waldman, L., Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom; Leach, M., Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom; Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y., Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana, Centre for African Wetlands, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 67, Legon, Accra, Ghana

Source: UG
Living within the safe and just Earth system boundaries for blue water

Safe and just Earth system boundaries (ESBs) for surface water and groundwater (blue water) have been defined for sustainable water management in the Anthropocene. Here we assessed whether minimum human needs could be met with surface water from within individual river basins alone and, where this is not possible, quantified how much Groundwater would be required. Approximately 2.6 billion people live in river basins where groundwater is needed because they are already outside the surface water ESB or have insufficient surface water to meet human needs and the ESB. Approximately 1.4 billion people live in river basins where demand-side transformations would be required as they either exceed the surface water ESB or face a decline in groundwater recharge and cannot meet minimum needs within the ESB. A further 1.5 billion people live in river basins outside the ESB, with insufficient surface water to meet minimum needs, requiring both supply- and demand-side transformations. These results highlight the challenges and opportunities of meeting even the most basic human access to water and protecting aquatic ecosystems.

Source: UG
Living without economic assets: Livelihoods of Liberian refugees in the Buduburam Camp, Ghana

This paper employs the Sustainable Livelihood Framework and social capital theory to examine the economic activities and livelihood strategies of Liberian refugees in the Buduburam Camp in Ghana. The paper is based on primary data collected through questionnaire surveys, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. The findings show that the Liberian refugees, in the Buduburam Camp, are pursuing their livelihoods within a macroeconomic environment that is characterized by various forms of vulnerabilities, which include resource constraints and lack of employment opportunities. Even though most of the refugees lack the necessary physical and economic assets to live within such a vulnerability context, they have relied on networks of social capital to survive for several years. Based on these findings, it has been recommended that Liberian refugees, in Ghana, should be encouraged to form mutual groups to enhance the benefits from such social networks. Churches and community-based organizations that are providing material assistance to vulnerable refugees must also be encouraged to continue with their humanitarian work in the camp.

Source: UG
LLHR-type chalcopyrite Re-Os geochronology and geochemistry of the Xiaotongchang Cu deposit in south Ailaoshan and its geological significances

The Xiaotongchang Cu deposit is located in the south Ailaoshan and at the contact between Yunnan province of China and Vietnam. Four Cu ore bodies are distributed parallel to each other in an interlayer fracture zone in the Permian Emeishan basalt. The major ore mineral in the deposit is chalcopyrite, and the main gangue minerals are quartz and calcite. New Re-Os data for chalcopyrite from the Xiaotongchang Cu deposit show tens of ppb Re abundances (1–86 ppb) and contain essentially no common Os. All the samples have extremely high 187Re/188Os (up to 2.3 × 104), and the dominance of radiogenic Os and high 187Re/188Os are diagnostic features of “LLHR” (low-level, highly radiogenic) sulfides. The Re-Os isochrone age for the No. 1 and No. 3 Cu bodies show that the phase of Cu mineralization predominantly occurred in the Middle Triassic, with an age of 230.6 ± 1.1 Ma. Thus, the mineralization occurred much later than the periods of major eruption of the Emeishan large igneous provinces, indicating a closer relationship with the late collisional processes in the Ailaoshan orogenic belt. Combined with REEs patterns and consistently positive δ34S values (7.4–9.2‰), it can be concluded that the ore-forming materials of the Cu deposit are derived from a mixture of mantle and crust components.

Source: UG
Local adaptation in populations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis endemic to the Indian Ocean Rim[version 1; peer review: 3 approved]

The Bacteriology Department aims to improve the quality of life first for Ghanaians and the world at large by conducting research into bacterial diseases of public health importance to Ghana and globally. In addition to working on enteric pathogens and sexually transmitted diseases, the department’s current main focus is on the two most important mycobacterial diseases of public health importance to Ghana, namely Buruli ulcer (BU) and tuberculosis (TB).

Source: UG
Local classifications of fever and treatment sought among populations at risk of zoonotic diseases in Ghana

In the past four decades, there has been an increase in the occurrence of zoonotic diseases. Some outbreaks have been devastating because of the inability of individuals and health workers to identify the diseases early. Generally, most zoonotic diseases are heralded by a fever. While fevers are common, they are often the symptoms of different diseases. This paper explores how a population at potential risk of zoonotic diseases identify fevers, and what treatments they seek when they develop fevers. The data are from focus group discussions and a survey of three communities in the Brong Ahafo, Volta and Greater Accra regions in Ghana. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics while the qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that the perceived causes of fever differ from the traditional biomedical view. While orthodox treatment was the preferred choice for most participants, rural dwellers utilised traditional medicine more than their urban counterparts. Though there is no record of bat-borne zoonotic disease in Ghana, our findings could be used as a proxy to indicate how populations at risk of exposure might respond in the event of a spillover event from a zoonosis. We recommend that educational campaigns on zoonotic diseases should target rural dwellers, especially farmers, who may be most at risk of zoonoses.

Source: UG
Local content and participation in Ghana’s oil and gas industry: Can enterprise development make a difference?

In 2013, a local content law was passed with the purpose of promoting internal and external linkages between Ghana's oil and gas sector and the broader economy. An Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) was established to enhance the capacity of indigenous Ghanaian firms and promote their participation in the oil and gas industry. This study examines the forms of linkage the EDC project promotes. Drawing on Bourdieu's distinction between social, cultural, economic and symbolic capital, different aspects of and ways of enhancing local entrepreneurial capacity are examined. It finds that the EDC facilitates interaction between local entrepreneurs, officials of state institutions and foreign oil companies, which enhances local entrepreneurs’ knowledge of the oil and gas sector and provides enterprises with an entry point. However, it is argued that only a few well-established medium to large-scale Ghanaian enterprises are able to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the EDC project to expand their operations. The majority of relatively new and small businesses are still unable to gain entry.

Source: UG
The local contours of scavenging for e-waste and higher-valued constituent parts in Accra, Ghana

The informal sector in developing countries plays a particularly important role in the overall economic development, yet due to epistemological neglect, its conceptualization focuses on the prism of poverty and social exclusion, hence overshadowing its embedded innovativeness, adaptability and contributions to job creation, poverty alleviation and environmental management. This paper contributes in bridging this knowledge dearth by focusing on how informal e-waste recyclers negotiate the challenges of contemporary political economy contexts. Using an urban mining lens, this paper shows how crucial this sector is for the success of any municipal waste management system and Accra's local economy in general. It is contended that the continuous denial of the sector's virtues in the economy is a poor situational analysis and the research emphasizes instead the need to consider as well as harness the sector's potential in order to create not only employment for the poor but also to bring e-waste recycling into mainstream waste management scholarship.

Source: UG
Local diagnostics kits for Africa being developed in Ghana

In our view, building local capacity in diagnostics could help Africa to tackle diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. We have set up a unit to design and develop diagnostic kits at the University of Ghana’s West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP). A robust service to monitor public health and deliver treatment depends on reliable early diagnosis of medical conditions. Africa is generally very limited in its development and deployment of diagnostics systems, however, so these are mostly brought in at high cost from the developed world. Furthermore, the stability and usability of such sensing systems are hampered by poor storage conditions and inadequately trained personnel. Using local platforms such as ours for developing diagnostic sensors and instrumentation will help to meet the continent’s growing demand for them. The hope is that ill health will no longer impede the economic prospects of the continent.

Source: UG
Local economic development and poverty reduction in developing societies: The experience of the ILO decent work project in Ghana

There have been series of contest analysis of developmental role of international development partners in sub-Saharan Africa. However, evidence abound that whiles international development partners have over the past three decades participated actively in local economic development the academic literature has barely focused on this area. As a result, very little is known about how development partners-led local economic development has translated into poverty reduction and economic prosperity. Through a qualitative case study of ILO decent work project in Ghana, this study provides empirical assessment and impact of development partners’ role in conceptualising, implementing and monitoring local economic development interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. The findings show that ILO decent work project has led to the creation of jobs, enabled participants to improve their businesses, improve their economic situation and meet their health needs and also adopt strategies to pull themselves out of poverty. The outcome of this paper is useful for both national and international development agencies in their attempt to improve societal development.

Source: UG