A socio-geographic perspective of health and economic impacts of COVID-19 on poor households in ghana

Abstract

COVID-19 outbreak has had multidimensional effects on human lives. The impacts are expected to be more severe on poor households, especially in resource-constraint economies such as Ghana. The Country has a higher poverty rate [24.2%] and this is likely to upsurge in the coming years due to this pandemic. We aimed to document the pandemic-related health and socioeconomic hazards in Ghana. A content analysis of relevant literature, and a qualitative survey using a socioecological lens were conducted. Based on the Ghana Living Standard Survey report (GLSS 7), twenty interviewees were recruited from 3 most poverty-stricken regions in the country to verify the findings of the content review. The findings indicate a significant health burden and a large-scale socioeconomic negative outcome among the Ghanaian poor households. The disproportionate health access by the poor and the rural inhabitants has and will continue to exacerbate. The social hazards are mainly circumscribed relating to poor economic conditions due to job losses, lack of access to income/savings, food insecurity, and lack of welfare support. At the national level, the economy is particularly vulnerable due to low levels of economic diversification. The ultimate manifestation of the pandemic impacts are higher risk of morbidity and mortality rates, and deteriorating wellbeing and livelihoods. These highlights are beneficial to policymakers, development partners, and human rights advocates to make collaborative efforts in helping the poor households during and the post-pandemic periods.

Effect of financial services access on health services utilisation among rural older adults in Ghana

“…This study focused on rural older adults due to the exacerbated challenges they face in accessing health services compared with their urban counterparts (Asante et al, 2021; Bocker et al, 2012; Crabb & Hunsley, 2006; Dempsey et al, 2003; Eckert et al, 2004; Gyasi, Phillips, & Adam, 2020). Rural older Ghanaians are more likely to report transportation challenges, financial constraints and longer travel distances to accessing needed health services (Agyemang‐Duah et al, 2019).…”

Health Policy and the Fight Against COVID-19: A Narrative Review of Ghana’s Response

“…The Ministry of Health, through the Ghana Health Service, also issued guidelines for isolation, among other things, on March 19, 2020, which mandated close contact of infected people to self-isolate for a minimum of 14 days [16]. There was a ban on all social gatherings, including schools, workshops, religious gatherings, and conferences, to limit the spread of the virus [23,40]. Private burials were allowed with a limited number of 25 people in attendance.…”

“…Ghana, like many developing countries, has inequitable healthcare delivery systems in which many people in the far-to-reach communities cannot access quality healthcare [8,40,43]. The massive infrastructure deficit in the healthcare delivery system in Ghana was of great concern when the outbreak was announced by WHO [8,36].…”

The socio-economic and health effects of COVID-19 among rural and urban-slum dwellers in Ghana: A mixed methods approach

“…Other studies reported that the partial lockdown in the Accra and Tema metropolis and the greater Kumasi area, which have the highest concentration of population in Ghana and were the epicentre of infection [3,30], resulted in hardships for the informal economy and the urban-slum [3]. Some of the effects were loss of jobs, income and lack of food, increase in poverty levels and fear of accessing health care [31][32][33][34]. This current study contributes to literature by employing a concurrent triangulation mixed methods design, to examine the socio-economic and health effects of COVID-19 as well as the categories of vulnerable individuals (urban-slum and rural residents) that are more susceptible to the effects of COVID-19 in Ghana.…”