Centre for Social Policy Studies
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Item Where Should We Stay? Exploring the Options of Caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Ghana(Center for Social Policy Studies - University of Ghana, 2012-01) Aryeetey, E.B.; Afranie, S.; Andoh, P.; Doh, D.; Antwi-Bosiakoh, T.This study provides an insight into care arrangements for orphan and vulnerable children in Ghana. It is an investigatory study using a mixed research method. Data was collected from 2, 100 households across 7 regions of Ghana and 36 institutional homes. It is evident that, there are a number of care arrangements available to orphan and vulnerable children in the country which are broadly categorized under institutional, community-based, and family/household care arrangements. Each of these care arrangements also has other subtypes depending on mode of operation. Institutional homes were most prominent followed by fosterage, adoption and house helps. Only one community-based ove care arrangement was identified. These care arrangtlJllents provided all manner of care services to ove, including education, food, health, socio-emotional and recreational care services; yet, there are obvious situations of lack of capacity and adherence to guidelines and regulations. Issues related to resources for home-based care were pronounced. It is therefore imperative that the situation of orphans and vulnerable children be carefully reconsidered. The capacity of the Department of Social Welfare comes to the fore in the quest to redefined care arrangements for ove. Nonetheless, the debate on care arrangements for ove lies in the adoption of a more. comprehensive regulatory system with consideration for home-based care arrangements including fosterage and adoption.Item Outdoor Education to Promote Mentoring and Youth Leadership Skills in Ghana(Center for Social Policy Studies - University of Ghana, 2012-04) Owusu, N.A.V.Mentoring and outdoor education in one form or the other have been features of African societies from time immemorial. In the traditional setting for example, children are guided by their elders in the course of their daily activities to acquire the necessary skills ' and competencies for life. More importantly, future heads of clans and chiefs are mentored or coached in the courts of older ones. In contemporary times mentoring has become much more formalised and specific strategies are used to achieve mentoring goals. The Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service both recognize the relevance of school clubs for achieving the goals of Education for All (EFA). For the purpose of this paper, outdoor education is mainly viewed through the operations of youth clubs in Ghana, such as Girls Guides. These youth clubs are typically formed and managed in schools; though some of them such as the church-based ones may be described as community youth clubs. There are other civic action clubs which also tend to operate at the community level, especially environmental conservation clubs. Leadership grooming is taken very seriously in these clubs. They tend to adopt the 'growth through challenge' philosophy of Erikson (1968), which is designed to empower the youth through experiences in the outdoors under the guidance of a leader/mentor. It is quite clear that the clubs' survival and success are closely linked to voluntary giving of time and other resources by allies, drawing attention to one of the important aspects of mentoring, namely, social mobilization. What these clubs do and how their reach can be extended in Ghana as a whole, is the subject of this paper.Item The Art of Giving - Through Volunteerism and Philanthropy: The Ghana Experience(Center for Social Policy Studies - University of Ghana, 2012-04) Aryeetey, E.B.; Opai-Tetteh, D.D.The world has known a long history of philanthropy and volunteerism, in spite of its centuries of wars and often acrimonious social relations between adversaries. Traditional giving practices were and remain predominantly in the form pf reciprocal exchange ,of goods and services between kin groups and their neighbours to sustain social capital. The objective of this working paper is to review the nature and practice of giving in general, but with special reference to Ghana. The aim is mainly to introduce the development community to the importance of social mobilization in the overall efforts at social progress by highlighting the contributions that charitable giving can make to social development. In the process the paper unveils some of the challenges that confront giving in Ghana. The discussion points out that while familial giving receives a lot of attention in the country, there is a growing incidence of civic giving taking place; some of it with support from public institutions, Having said that, it does appear that the scene is dominated by customary giving practices, which leave a lot of scope for advancing civic forms of giving. Religious beliefs, philosophical ideas and ethical principles have all contributed to the endurance of societal commitment to reciprocity and redistribution. The United Nations General Assembly in 1985 set aside 5th December every year to celebrate the International Volunteer Day. This has further created renewed interest in volunteer activities across the world. The paper relies mainly on secondary data on giving in Ghana and elsewhere. The main finding is that in developed economies where attractive policies are in place to encourage people to give to charity huge amounts of funds can be mobilized for charity work. On the other hand in countries like Ghana though giving is common, especially as remittances and for funerals, philanthropy and volunteerism are largely unstructured and informal. . In addition, data on the scope and value of such practices is virtually non-existent, making it difficult to mobilize such funds for planned social development.Item Choosing an apprenticeship: Skills preferences amongst the youth(International Development Planning Review, 2013-01) Aryeetey, E.; Doh, D.; Andoh, P.Young people leaving basic education with no opportunities of continuing on to the next level of education often face a tough choice of what to do next. There are a variety of issues that pose challenges for them, not least being what trajectory to pursue in their quest for skills training for employment. This article examines the precursors to skills choices among young people, using qualitative data from trainees engaging in both informal apprenticeships and formal and vocational training institutions in Ghana. The analysis adopted an inductive approach, using a thematic analytical framework to generate insights and uncover the factors that shape them. The findings show that there is interplay of several factors that influence the skills preferences of young people in vocational education, including the family context, socio-cultural environment and the presence of role models within specific trades. The paper concludes that, in harmonising the frontiers of skills training, it is imperative for policy to provide systematic career guidance and counselling paths for trainees in both formal and informal apprenticeship training institutions, in order to enhance their skills choices.Item Shifting sands: Changes in community perceptions of mining in Ghana(Environment, Development and Sustainability, 2014) Lawson, E.T.; Bentil, G.The contribution of mining to the Ghanaian economy has been substantial. The mining sector is currently a major foreign exchange earner and contributes to long-term capital formation and fiscal payment to the state. However, the industry continues to have adverse consequences on the lives of local community dwellers, most of whom are often unprepared to deal with these impacts. Often, new mining exploration takes place on land that provides land-based livelihood to many rural people. Ironically, compensation payments seem to worsen poverty in the mining communities and bring about the social conflicts. Hence, whilst communities are highly welcoming of mining companies during exploration, they become resentful during operation of the mine. Using two communities in the Asutifi District of Ghana as case studies, this paper presents a candid assessment of the changes that occur in respondents' perception of mining during, before and after the inception of mining. It also examines the gender dimensions of the impacts of mining activities as well as the communities' sources of information. Since public participation is an integral part of the environmental assessment process in Ghana, the paper concludes by recommending among others, precise channels of communication and dialogue before mining begins and during the operation of the mine, to increase awareness among community members. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.Item Political settlements, the deals environment and economic growth: The case of Ghana.(Effective States and Inclusive Development, 2015) Osei, R.D.; Ackah, C.; Domfe, G.; Danquah, M.The paper explores the extent to which political settlements, and consequently the deals environment, have influenced the growth and development outcomes for Ghana. This is done using a conceptual framework which tries to demonstrate how political settlements and the deals environment help explain sustained economic growth. Some of the key findings are summarised as follows. First, the paper notes that political settlements in Ghana have been largely personalised over the years, with electoral competition becoming a feature of the last two decades. Second, it notes that the product space for Ghana has remained largely unchanged over the years, reinforcing the argument that growth has not been structurally transformative. Third, it argues that the deals space in Ghana is largely a product of the nature of the political settlement and this in turn has contributed to growth without structural transformation of the economy. The paper concludes by noting that Ghana finds itself in a position where change to its deals space, in a way that promotes sustained accelerated growth, will be difficult.Item Women’s wealth and intimate partner violence: Insights from Ecuador and Ghana.(Routledge, 2015) Oduro, A.D.; Deere, C.D.; Catanzarite, Z.Intimate partner violence (IPV) by men against their partners is one of the most glaring indicators of women’s lack of empowerment. Drawing upon the 2010 Ecuador Household Asset Survey (EAFF) and the 2010 Ghana Household Asset Survey (GHAS), nationally representative surveys for Ecuador and Ghana, respectively, this study investigates the relationship between women’s ownership of assets and physical and emotional abuse by spouses against currently partnered women over the previous twelve months. It uses the value of a woman’s total assets compared to those of her partner as the main proxy for a woman’s bargaining power. Differentiating between physical and emotional violence in both countries, the study finds that women’s share of couple wealth is significantly associated with lower odds of physical violence in Ecuador and emotional violence in Ghana. Moreover, the association between women’s share of couple wealth and IPV is contingent on the household’s position in the wealth distribution.Item Engendering economic policy in Africa.(Taylor & Francis, 2015) Oduro, A.D.; van Staveren, I.Despite Africa's relatively commendable growth performance since 2000, growth has not been accompanied by structural transformations. First, there has been little diversification from agriculture into industry, particularly manufacturing. Second, the poverty headcount and inequality remain high in many countries, even as African countries continue to rank lowest on the United Nations Development Programme's Gender Inequality Index. This contribution goes beyond the individualistic approach of supply-side policies and unveils deeper mechanisms that need to be tackled for the two transformations (diversification and inequality reduction) to occur. It demonstrates that gender inequality relies on unwritten but dominant social norms, hence, informal institutions. The removal of formal legislation that constrains women's agency, the enactment of formal laws, and the implementation of economic policies designed specifically to create incentives for behavior change are recommended.Item A spatio-temporal analysis of academic performance at the Basic Education Certificate Examination in Ghana(ELSEVIER, 2015) Ansong, D.; Ansong, E.K.; Ampomah, A.O.; Afranie, S.Over the last decade, Ghana has more than tripled investment in its basic education system. Conse- quently, the country has made huge educational gains, primarily in providing universal access to basic education. However, many stakeholders are worried that academic performance is lagging because of dis- proportional attention to accessing basic education. Discussion of these concerns is hampered by ongoing disagreement about the true trajectory of academic performance at the basic education level and the widespread nature of students’ lagging academic performance. In part, this disagreement stems from the ailure of empirical studies to comprehensively examine trends in academic performance standards at the basic education level by concurrently considering a geographical and longitudinal perspective. Thus, this study examines the spatio-temporal trends of academic performance at the junior high school level since 2009 by using multilevel growth curve modeling, spatial statistics, and district-level longitudinal data. Results reveal 3 statistically distinct trajectories of academic performance: erratic, accelerating, and de- celerating changes. Results also show that rural–urban gaps explain 31% of the performance trajectories, a trend which is expected to persist in the long term. In addition, we find extreme variations in academic performance within rural areas. Given the varying trajectories and geographical variability in academic performance, we suggest a localized approach to addressing challenges of low academic achievement at the basic education level in Ghana.Item Preparing for Ebola Virus Disease in West African countries not yet affected: Perspectives from Ghanaian health professionals(Globalization and Health, 2015-02) Nyarko, Y.; Goldfrank, L.; Ogedegbe, G.; Soghoian, S.; de-Graft Aikins, A.; Koram, K.; Ohene, S.; Ofori-Atta, A.; Afari, E.; Sutherland-Addy, E.; Atobrah, D.; Boateng, W.B.; Boatemaa, S.; Sanuade, T.; Koram, N.; Anyidoho, A.; Lartey, M.; Markham-Seadey, J.; Ofori-Amankwah, G.; Amenuveve, C.Background: The current Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) epidemic has ravaged the social fabric of three West African countries and affected people worldwide. We report key themes from an agenda-setting, multi-disciplinary roundtable convened to examine experiences and implications for health systems in Ghana, a nation without cases but where risk for spread is high and the economic, social and political impact of the impending threat is already felt. Discussion: Participants' personal stories and the broader debates to define fundamental issues and opportunities for preparedness focused on three inter-related themes. First, the dangers of the fear response itself were highlighted as a threat to the integrity and continuity of quality care. Second, healthcare workers' fears were compounded by a demonstrable lack of societal and personal protections for infection prevention and control in communities and healthcare facilities, as evidenced by an ongoing cholera epidemic affecting over 20,000 patients in the capital Accra alone since June 2014. Third, a lack of coherent messaging and direction from leadership seems to have limited coordination and reinforced a level of mistrust in the government's ability and commitment to mobilize an adequate response. Initial recommendations include urgent investment in the needed supplies and infrastructure for basic, routine infection control in communities and healthcare facilities, provision of assurances with securities for frontline healthcare workers, establishment of a multi-sector, "all-hazards" outbreak surveillance system, and engaging directly with key community groups to co-produce contextually relevant educational messages that will help decrease stigma, fear, and the demoralizing perception that the disease defies remedy or control. Summary: The EVD epidemic provides an unprecedented opportunity for West African countries not yet affected by EVD cases to make progress on tackling long-standing health systems weaknesses. This roundtable discussion emphasized the urgent need to strengthen capacity for infection control, occupational health and safety, and leadership coordination. Significant commitment is needed to raise standards of hygiene in communities and health facilities, build mechanisms for collaboration across sectors, and engage community stakeholders in creating the needed solutions. It would be both devastating and irresponsible to waste the opportunity. © 2015 Nyarko et al.Item Household Composition and Well-Being of Older Persons in Ghana(University of Wisconsin Press, 2016) Domfe, G.; Bortei-Doku Aryeetey, E.Ghana’s population is aging in line with global trends. While this has implications for household composition and well-being of older persons, discussions on it have not received much attention in the various welfare studies on Ghana. This paper examines changes in household composition and their overall correlation with well-being of the older person. The data sets of the last four rounds of Ghana Living Standard Surveys were used to analyse trends in household composition in Ghana from 1991–1992 survey period to 2012–2013 survey period. A probit regression analysis was employed to identify key household characteristics and resources that correlate with well-being of older persons. The findings suggest that higher number of economically active household members, acquisition of formal education, receipt of remittances and ownership of certain material and social resources correlate positively with the well-being of the older persons. The paper concludes that household composition and resources owned by household members can affect the well-being of the older persons in the household. Household members are therefore encouraged to remain economically active while conserving resources to improve their well-being later in life.Item Reducing Exclusion through Social Intervention Programme: Lessons from Implementation of MDGs in Ghana and South Africa(Ghana Social Science Journal, 2016) Mohammed, I.; Domfe, G.Reducing exclusion within and among countries in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa would require basic understanding of the effectiveness of the various policies and programmes currently being implemented to improve welfare. The paper contributes to this discussion through a comparative analysis of the social protection paradigms applied during the era of the Millennium Development Goals in Ghana and South Africa. The authors investigated whether transformative measures such as changing regulatory framework to protect vulnerable groups, operationalizing economic, social and cultural rights of citizens, and public sensitisation campaigns have in-built mechanisms for tackling exclusion. The main approach of the study was a review of empirical literature that has examined the paradigms of so cial protection in the two countries. The study revealed that investment in education and enforcement of laws on social rights could reduce inequality within and between the two countries. It was therefore recommended that much effort should be made to imp rove investment in education and enforce laws on social rights in order to achieve better results from the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa.Item ). Delayed primary school enrolment among boys and girls in Ghana(Elsevier Science, 2016) Seshie-Nasser, H.A.; Oduro, A.D.Using the fifth Ghana Living Standards Survey, this paper examines whether delayed entry is as likely among girls as it is among boys and the importance of the household's poverty status in understanding delayed entry. No gender difference is found in the likelihood of delayed entry. However boys are much older for their grades than girls suggesting that they may experience a more extended period of delayed entry. The poverty status of the household is not an important correlate of delayed entry among girls or children in urban households but is important for boys and rural children.Item Girls in Mining in Ghana: Surviving Without Flourishing(Centre for Social Policy Studies - University of Ghana, 2016-12) Doh, D.; Bortei-DokuAryeetey, E.; Ahadzie, W.; Lawson, E.T.Child labour is endemic in Africa and remains one of the biggest challenges facing Ghana. Child labour, by definition in Ghana’s Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560) refers to (harmful) work by children below the age of 18 years. Yet for many children and their families, child labour is a very important coping mechanism that helps them to fight poverty. Some scholars are beginning to soften their hardline stance on child labour, suggesting that many working children have successfully completed school. This report shares findings on an exploratory study of 165 girls under 18 years working in artisanal gold mines in Akwatia in the Eastern Region and Tarkwa in the Western Region in Ghana. Descriptive statistics from the study revealed that the majority of girls in mining were able to support themselves financially but simply could not cope with regular school, to be able to make positive advancements in their social development. Thus the girls were able to survive but could hardly flourish under the circumstances. Thus the observation that it is possible to successfully combine school and work among children therefore is subject to the conditions under which this occurs, and requires further field study.Item Deals and Development: The Political Dynamics of Growth Episodes(Oxford University Press, 2017) Osei, R.D.; Ackah, C.; Domfe, G.; Danquah, M.This chapter explores the extent to which political settlements interacting with the rents space affect the nature of the deals space and consequently help explain economic growth in Ghana. The discussions are centred around four break points and therefore five growth episodes for Ghana: pre-1966, 1966–74, 1974–83, 1983–2001, and 2001–14. First, there are signs that the post-2001 period has been more ordered and open than the first twenty-five years after independence. Second, the political settlement has also changed somewhat over the years, from a dominant to a more competitive type. However, it is argued that political patronage remains rife. Third, the chapter finds that the interplay of political settlements and rent space has been important in shaping the nature of the deals space in Ghana. Finally, it highlights two types of positive and negative feedback loop relating to these variables over the years.Item Navigating transnational childcare relationships: migrant parents and their children's caregivers in the origin country(Global Networks Partnership and John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2017) Poeze, M.; Dankyi, E.K.; Mazzucato, V.In this article, we investigate the daily work entailed in maintaining informal transnational childcare relationships between migrant parents and the children’s kin or non-kin caregivers in the country of origin. By applying the concept of ‘kin work’, we seek to understand how work is performed within transnational care relationships. Using a simultaneous matched sample methodology that gives equal weight to data on both sides of the transnational relationship, a team of researchers collected ethnographic data from Ghanaian migrant parents in the Netherlands and from their children’s caregivers in Ghana. This approach allowed us to investigate the day-to-day care work from two perspectives – namely the visible and the invisible actions of the people involved in creating the kinship relationships of care work. Discrepancies in perceptions were uncovered because we compared data obtained on both sides of the relationship. These findings contribute to our understanding of the ways in which long-distance practices facilitate the maintenance of kin relationships and how the inability to perform these can lead to tensionsItem Reciprocity in global social protection: providing care for migrants’ children(Taylor & Francis, 2017) Dankyi, E.; Mazzucato, V.; Manuh, T.Migration research tends to conceptualize migrants as providers of social protection for people back home. Yet the care conducted within transnational families and the way it is organized is an integral part of a global social protection system which is based on reciprocity between migrants and their families in their home countries. This system relies on the work of people back home just as much as on the remittances of migrants overseas. Drawing on ethnographic data from 34 caregivers, we provide a detailed description of the work conducted by people in Ghana to care for migrants’ children and analyze what caregivers do to make this work possible. We find that caregivers have small networks of support they can rely on and identify the strategies they develop when remittances are not forthcoming or enough to cater for the material needs of migrants’ children.Item Politics, Public Policy and Social Protection in Africa(Routledge, 2017) De-Graft Aikins, A.; Alidu, S.; Bortei-Doku Aryeetey, E.; Domfe, G.; Armah, R.Africa is now in a much-improved position to support its poor and vulnerable people. It has more money, more policy commitment and abundant intervention programmes. Yet the number of citizens living lives of desperation, or at risk of destitution, is at an all-time high, and still rising. What is turning such positive prospects into such a disappointing result? Politics, Public Policy and Social Protection in Africa reveals key answers, drawing on empirical studies of cash transfer programmes in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. Social cash transfer might be the most effective "safety net" formula to emerge so far. The country chapters in this book explore why it works and how it might be harnessed for poverty alleviation. The studies uncover the very different motives of donors, politicians and the poor themselves for making it their preferred choice; why governments are not expanding the donor-driven pilot programmes as expected, and why ruling elites are not trying to help or hinder a concept which, on the face of it, could derail one of their most lucrative gravy trains. This book will be of value and interest to researchers and students of African politics, African social policy and sociology, as well as policy maker and donors.Item The economy of Ghana sixty years after indpendence(Oxford University Press, 2017) Oduro, A.D.; Ackah, C.J.his chapter assesses gender issues in the national discourse and policy agenda since independence and presents evidence on trends in gender gaps in education, employment, time use, and asset ownership. Although progress has been made in introducing legislation and policies to promote gender equality, important legislation remains to be enacted. Gender parity in primary enrolment has been achieved but gender gaps persist in other education levels and in education outcomes. More women are in wage employment, but the proportion of working women classified as unpaid family workers remains stubbornly high. The gender gap in time spent on unpaid domestic work persists despite women’s increased labour force participation and there is a gender gap in asset ownership. Closing the gender gap will require crafting appropriate strategies based on a clear understanding of gender relations in order to change values, norms, and behaviours.Item Gender of Household Heads, Assets and Choice of Basic Services(Ghana Social Science Journal, 2017-06-01) Domfe, G.; Bortei-Doku Aryeetey, E.The paper examines how assets owned by men- and women-headed households could help in enhancing the choice of different basic social services. It uses the data of a comprehensive field survey conducted by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research in 9,310 households across 23 MiDA intervention districts in Ghana in 2008. A multinomial logistic regression was employed to assess how ownership of a particular asset could enhance the choice of basic social services such as education, health and sanitation. The results of the study indicate that women-headed households control less productive assets and are therefore more likely to depend on the cheaper but lower quality public educational facilities than on the expensive but higher quality private educational facilities. Recommendations were therefore made for policy to ensure that opportunities are provided for women-headed households to own more productive assets.
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