The Contours of Poverty in Northern Ghana: Policy Implications for Combating Food Insecurity

Yaro, Joseph Awetori; Hesselberg, Jan

doi:10.4314/rrias.v26i1.56957

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Compared to the south, northern Ghana is characterized by limited healthcare facilities and health personnel [ 41 , 42 ]. The Savanna zone is the poorest in the country [ 43 , 44 ] and experiences highest seasonal malaria transmission and malaria among under five children [ 27 , 31 , 45 ]. The Savanna zone also bears the highest fertility rate in the country [ 46 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ghanaian women’s knowledge on whether malaria treatment is covered by the national health insurance: A multilevel regression analysis of national data

et al. 2021

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Background To obviate malaria and other healthcare costs and enhance healthcare utilization, the government of Ghana introduced the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2005. Nonetheless, there is dearth of empirical evidence on Ghanaian women’s knowledge about whether malaria treatment is covered by the NHIS or not. The current study, therefore, investigated factors associated with knowledge of malaria treatment with the NHIS among women aged 15-49 in Ghana. Methods The study is a secondary analysis of data from women respondents in the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. A total of 2,560 women participated in this study. Descriptive computation of the weighted proportion of women who knew that malaria is covered by NHIS was conducted at 95% confidence interval (CI). A multilevel logistic regression analyses was carried out with Stata’s MLwinN package version 3.05. We declared significance at 5% alpha. Findings from the models were reported as adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and credible intervals (CrIs). Results In all, 81.0% of Ghanaian women included in the study knew that NHIS covers malaria treatment. Women aged 45-49 had higher odds of knowing that NHIS covers malaria relative to those aged 15-19 age category [aOR=1.5;95%crl=1.2-2.1]. Women with higher education (post-secondary) had higher odds of knowing that NHIS covers malaria treatment compared with women who had no formal education [aOR=1.6;95%Crl=1.2-2.0]. Richest women were more likely to know that NHIS covers malaria treatment compared to the poorest women [aOR=1.3;95%Crl=1.2-1.7]. Women who had subscribed to the NHIS were more likely to report that NHIS covers malaria treatment [aOR=1.5;95%Crl=1.2-1.8]. The study revealed that the variance in the tendency for a woman to be aware that NHIS covers malaria treatment is attributable to 10.8% community level factors. Conclusion This study has shown that individual, community and regional level factors affect women’s knowledge on whether NHIS covers malaria treatment or not. As knowledge that malaria treatment is covered by NHIS may increase use of malaria prevention and treatment services in health facilities, we recommend that the Ghana Health Service intensifies community level education and awareness creation efforts, targeted at women among whom awareness levels are currently low.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ghanaian women’s knowledge on whether malaria treatment is covered by the national health insurance: A multilevel regression analysis of national data

et al. 2021

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“…Population density in northern Ghana is generally sparse in rural settings with economically poorer conditions than the southern part of the country (Yaro and Hesselberg, 2010). With high poverty and unemployment rates, the active population in the region emigrates to southern Ghana for livelihood opportunities in dry seasons annually.…”

Section: The Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change, Flood Disaster Risk and Food Security Nexus in Northern Ghana

Atanga

Tankpa

2021

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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This research reviews climate change, flood disasters impacts and food security nexus in northern Ghana. The impacts of climate change include flood disasters which in turn affect food production with subsequent impact on food security. While climate change impact can be positive in some regions, it can be negative in other regions as it could lead to excess or lack of water, which negatively affects food production. Most especially, flood disasters have reportedly become frequent with devastating consequences on food production. Literature further suggests that the frequency of floods and their impacts have the potential to increase in the future. Floods inundate farms, pastures and livestock, which could subsequently reduce crop yields and animal production. Floods also destroys physical infrastructure and disrupts socio-economic activities which are linked to agriculture sector and could affect food production. This eventually decreases food availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability in the region. Northern Ghana has experienced flood disasters with increased frequency, which are related to climate change impacts. Although there is research on climate change, flood disasters, and food security issues in northern Ghana, the literature thus far indicates no clear focus of studies that focuses on the nexus of climate change, flood disasters, and food security of the study site. Thus, this research seeks to review the nexus of climate change, and flood disaster impacts on food security in northern Ghana with their implications on food security in the region. This study has two main research objectives. The first objective of this research is to identify and understand the potential impacts of climate change and flood disasters on food production in the study site. The second research objective is to explain the connection between climate change and flood disasters and the implications of this relationship on food security in the study site. This review study focuses on climate change, flood disasters, and food production to understand the critical impacts of climate change and flood disasters on food security in the northern part of Ghana. The aim of this research is to contribute to literature and discussion of the nexus of climate change, flood disaster impacts and food security sub-Saharan Africa.

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“…This is particularly the case in the northern regions of Ghana where perennial vulnerability and entrenched poverty are being exacerbated by the emergent reality of climate change impacts [8][9][10]. As impacts become more pronounced and pervasive, food security or better still food insecurity has emerged as a front-line issue in most communities across Ghana, but even more so in poor and deprived communities [11,12]. Declining access to food as result of climate variability and change has also come with attendant food quality problems which, as is currently becoming clear, has significant challenges for the health of low-income families and households [4,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change and food systems: Linking adaptive capacity and nutritional needs of low-income households in Ghana

Issahaku,

Manteaw,

Wrigley-Asante

2023

PLOS Clim

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Climate change is projected to adversely impact the health and wellbeing of households particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa where social vulnerability is pervasive. While countries such as Ghana have intensified efforts to ensure effective and proactive adaptation to emerging climate impacts, it has also become apparent, in some instances, that levels of adaptive capacity within households and communities remain a critical determinant of the success of adaptation efforts. This is particularly the case in the poor and perennially vulnerable northern regions of Ghana where high incidence of stunting in children has highlighted the complex interlinkages that exists among climate change, food systems, household income levels, nutrition, and adaptive capacity. This is against the background that this is also the time that government and other development partners have intensified intervention actions to influence household adaptation to climate change and nutrition and health outcomes, particularly among children. Using the Karaga district of northern Ghana as a reference point, and employing the sustainable livelihoods framework, this study explores the link between household adaptive capacity to climate change and the nutritional needs of low-income households. The study finds a significant inverse relationship between household adaptive capacity and stunting in children under five years of age as an indicator of household nutritional needs. Additionally, the study also finds that agricultural practices like adopting new varieties, dry season farming, mulching, and intercropping could have positive influence on household nutrition if households have sufficient capacity to adopt such practices. The study, therefore, provides, critical insights into adaptive capacity measurement and its utility in the context of human systems. More importantly, the study also shows how carefully considered adaptation efforts can shape national policies on climate adaptation, adaptive capacity, nutrition, and health.

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The Contours of Poverty in Northern Ghana: Policy Implications for Combating Food Insecurity

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Ghanaian women’s knowledge on whether malaria treatment is covered by the national health insurance: A multilevel regression analysis of national data

Ghanaian women’s knowledge on whether malaria treatment is covered by the national health insurance: A multilevel regression analysis of national data

Climate Change, Flood Disaster Risk and Food Security Nexus in Northern Ghana

Climate change and food systems: Linking adaptive capacity and nutritional needs of low-income households in Ghana

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