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2. COVID-19 and Implementation of Online Learning in Ghana: Perspectives of Undergraduate Students in Higher Education Institutions
- Author
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Tsevi, Linda
- Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted teaching and learning in higher education institutions globally and Ghana is no exception. Educational institutions have had to adapt to new models of teaching as well as engagement of students through the use of technology with a purpose of enabling continuity in academic work. Using the connectivism learning model and a purposive sample of eighteen undergraduate students from six public and private higher education institutions, this paper explored their perspectives about institutional adaptation of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection procedures included in-person or phone semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study indicate that though the majority of higher education institutions did not have adequate structures to smoothly transition teaching and learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic, they were able to adapt and make do with available technology that suited a majority of students for teaching and learning to continue. Participants revealed challenges encountered during online teaching and learning to include inadequate network bandwidth that was further impacted by one's location, data insufficiency, and inconsistent online scheduling by faculty members which affected student availability. It was also noted that there were variations in the ways higher education institutions implemented online learning to aid student academic engagement, teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, there is therefore a call for the promulgation of a policy to standardize the delivery of online learning in higher education institutions in Ghana. [For the full proceedings, see ED625421.]
- Published
- 2021
3. Understanding the Foremost Challenges in the Transition to Online Teaching and Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Literature Review
- Author
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Hamad, Wahid Bakar
- Abstract
The study aims to understand the foremost challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopts the PRISMA approach to screening the selection of journal articles and review papers according to the research aims and the inclusion criteria. The journal articles and review papers were extracted and stored in Microsoft Excel and Google Scholar, Academic. Microsoft, Semantic Scholar, Elsevier, and Emerald Insight databases searched relevant documents using formulated keywords. A statistical technique was applied using the M.S. Excel analysis tool (PivotTable and an independent t-Test) to analyze data and determine the differences between teachers and students. The review revealed the evidence that the majority of the studies were primarily focused on the individual developing countries and results from other developing countries were not considered. In addition, the foremost challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic were inadequate skills and training, inadequate Internet/Infrastructure, lack of supporting resources and lack of online student engagement and feedback. Finally, the independent t-test reveals there is no statistically significant difference in challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both teachers and students encounter similar challenges. The systematic review raised concerns that higher learning needs to effectively implement long term strategies and support teachers and students in getting into online teaching and learning.
- Published
- 2022
4. Commission for International Adult Education (CIAE) of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE). Proceedings of the 2022 International Pre-Conference (71st, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 10-11, 2022)
- Author
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American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE), Commission for International Adult Education (CIAE) and Griswold, Wendy
- Abstract
The Commission on International Adult Education (CIAE) of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) provides a forum for the discussion of international issues related to adult education in general, as well as adult education in various countries around the globe. These "Proceedings" are from the Commission of International Adult Education's (CIAE) 2022 International Pre-Conference. This year's "Proceedings" contain 12 papers from 18 authors, representing CIAE's usual diversity of authors and topics. Researcher and research sites include Canada, China, Ghana, Italy, Nigeria, and the United States. A major theme continuing from the 2021 conference is the impact of COVID-19 on learners in a variety of settings, including teacher training, adult basic education, and higher education. A second major theme concerns cross-cultural learning, including among migrants and in higher education. Some papers address adult learning experiences in myriad social contexts, such as learning for democracy, aging, military, and spiritual learning. A special feature at this year's Pre-Conference is a focus on CONFINTEA VII and the Marrakech Framework for Action. A panel and discussion session on these important endeavors are part of the Pre-Conference Agenda, with key documents provided in the 2022 Proceedings. [Individual papers are indexed in ERIC.]
- Published
- 2022
5. Commission for International Adult Education (CIAE) of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE). Proceedings of the 2021 International Pre-Conference (70th, Miramar Beach, Florida, October 4-5, 2021)
- Author
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American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE), Commission for International Adult Education (CIAE) and Griswold, Wendy
- Abstract
The Commission on International Adult Education (CIAE) of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) provides a forum for the discussion of international issues related to adult education in general, as well as adult education in various countries around the globe. These "Proceedings" are from the Commission of International Adult Education's (CIAE) 2021 International Pre-Conference. This year's "Proceedings" contain 17 papers from 37 authors, representing CIAE's usual diversity of authors and topics. Researcher and research sites include Belgium, Belize, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Nigeria, Norway, Serbia, and the United States. Not surprisingly, a major theme explored is the impact of COVID-19 on learners in a variety of settings, including school teachers, communities, parents, and higher education. A second major theme concerns digital resources and addressing the digital divide. Some papers address practices and research methods that enhance adult learning and others explore professional development, workplace learning, and cultural aspects of learning. [Individual papers are indexed in ERIC.]
- Published
- 2021
6. Preparedness of Schools to Re-Open Post-COVID-19 Induced School Closures in Ghana
- Author
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Clara Araba Mills, Might Kojo Abreh, Amina Jangu Alhassan, Gloria Nyame, Rosemary Serwah Bosu, Francis Ansah, and Wisdom Kwaku Agbevanu
- Abstract
The ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic on society affected several facets including formal education. Significantly, the indefinite closure of schools was introduced to control the spread and related fatality of the pandemic making the decision to reopen schools for all learners in January 2021 after several months of closure a preparedness concern. Using a national school-based survey informed by Event Systems and Chaos theories, the paper explores the preparedness of schools to re-open post-COVID-19 school closure. From the findings, it became evident that schools in Ghana were generally prepared to re-open per schedule. However, there existed unique disparities in some school system sub-levels informed by the location of the school. Consequently, we recommend: (1) the need to take advantage of the confidence the school system had regarding reopening for undertaking build-back efforts in future pandemics, and (2) policy and research response, especially for the vulnerable in resilience building post-emergency recovery in schools.
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- 2023
7. Data Disaggregation for Inclusive Quality Education in Emergencies: The COVID-19 Experience in Ghana
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Sayibu, Abdul Badi
- Abstract
The process of data analysis provides, undoubtedly, some of the major challenges facing organizations during the implementation of interventions in emergencies. The challenges are primarily due to the lack of direct access to beneficiaries and the rapidly evolving nature of emergencies. This paper outlines how Plan International's Making Ghanaian Girls Great! (MGCubed) project used phone-based surveys to assess the uptake of a Ghana Learning TV (GLTV) programme implemented in partnership with the government. Due to the emergency context and the need for real-time information to guide the implementation of this intervention, there was little time to undertake a major statistical analysis of survey data. This paper discusses how the MGCubed project adopted a simple data disaggregation method using a logic tree technique to gain valuable insights from the survey data. The method allowed for exploring the insights of the data set in real-time without requiring more complex and time-consuming analysis. All views expressed in this article are the author's and not of FCDO.
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- 2022
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8. Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Prospects of E-Learning in Higher Learning Institutions: the Mediating Role of Academic Innovativeness and Technological Growth
- Author
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Edem Adzovie, Daniel and Jibril, Abdul Bashiru
- Abstract
This paper assesses the antecedents (prospects) geared toward the implementation of e-learning strategy in the HLI's of Ghana (a developing country) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The study again espouses the enabling factors that influence the e-learning system usage during the COVID-19 pandemic in a less digitalized economy. In doing so, the authors relied wholly on a quantitative research paradigm by leveraging on structural equation modelling (SEM) technique to achieve the study goal(s). The findings from 563 valid responses showed that the outbreak of the novel COVID-19 has positively and significantly strengthened the adoption of e-learning strategies across HLI's in Ghana. It also revealed that "academic innovativeness" and "technological growth & development" have a significant mediation effect on the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and the adoption of e-learning strategy. In practice, the study offers contributions for universities' management and policymakers to understand the relevant factors needed urgently by students and instructors of HLI's for ensuring the successful usage of e-learning systems. The conclusion and future research direction has been presented in the paper.
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- 2022
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9. A randomized controlled trial to test financial incentives for COVID-19 vaccination in Ghana.
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Duch R, Asiedu E, Nakamura R, Rouyard T, Yevenes C, Roope L, Violato M, and Clarke P
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- COVID-19 Vaccines therapeutic use, Ghana epidemiology, Humans, Vaccination, COVID-19 epidemiology, COVID-19 prevention & control, Motivation
- Published
- 2022
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10. COVID-19 and Higher Education in Ghana: The Case of a Public Higher Education Institution
- Author
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Tsevi, Linda
- Abstract
This paper examines the ability of a public higher education in Ghana to adapt to changes in teaching and learning in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic. Measures taken to ensure uninterrupted migration to online teaching and learning included a regular monthly supply of data bundle from an internet service provider to faculty members, select support staff and students in addition to regular training in the effective use of the SAKAI Learning Management System. Challenges encountered include inadequate internet access, occasional network interruptions during online classes and oversubscription of Zoom time slots at the departmental level. Despite these challenges, this public higher education institution was able to complete the 2019/2020 academic year fairly well.
- Published
- 2021
11. Tutor Perception on Personal and Institutional Preparedness for Online Teaching-Learning during the COVID-19 Crisis: The Case of Ghanaian Colleges of Education
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Gyampoh, Alexander Obiri, Ayitey, Henry Kwao, Fosu-Ayarkwah, Charles, Ntow, Seth Akyea, Akossah, Joseph, Gavor, Miracule, and Vlachopoulos, Dimitrios
- Abstract
This paper looks at Ghanaian Colleges of Education tutors' perception on the personal and institutional preparedness for online teaching-learning during the COVID-19 crisis. The study selected 24 tutors from 9 Colleges of Education (CoEs) in the Eastern and Greater Accra Regions. 7 CoEs are in Eastern while 2 are in Greater Accra. Using the convenience sampling technique, 24 tutors were selected as the accessible population. The research design used was the qualitative with a semi-structured interview conducted over the telephone because of social distancing. The data collected was analysed manually. The results indicate that only 33.3% of the respondents could teach confidently online, while 66.7% needed more training to confidently deliver lessons online. Furthermore, none of the 9 colleges had policies on online teaching even though each college had at least 16 policies regarding the good governance of the colleges. It is therefore recommended that tutors of CoEs should be given support in ICT and online skills and competencies through continuous training.
- Published
- 2020
12. Is There Learning Continuity during the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Synthesis of the Emerging Evidence
- Author
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McBurnie, Chris, Adam, Taskeen, and Kaye, Tom
- Abstract
Since the onset of COVID-19, governments have launched technology-supported education interventions to ensure children learn. This paper offers a narrative synthesis of emerging evidence on technology-based education to understand the current experiences of learners, teachers and families. Studies find that few students in low- and middle-income countries have access to technology-supported learning with the most marginalised children appearing to have the least educational opportunities. As such, the education response to COVID-19 could widen existing inequalities.
- Published
- 2020
13. Framing Chinese Treatment of Africans in Guangzhou: A Study of Nigerian and Ghanaian Online Newspapers.
- Author
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Oshodi, Abdul-Gafar Tobi
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COVID-19 pandemic ,CRITICAL discourse analysis ,IMMIGRANTS ,VICTIM psychology - Abstract
The treatment of Africans in Guangzhou, China in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic - here referred to as the "Guangzhou episode" - generated strong criticisms and made news headlines within and outside Africa. This paper analyzes the reportage of the episode in four online African newspapers: two each from Nigeria and Ghana. Specifically, it sheds light on how the episode was framed, comparing coverage between both countries. Using a discourse analysis that prioritizes language, source, and focus, the paper demonstrates that while Western media were important influences and sources for the newspapers, the African migrants' experiences in the episode were largely framed within (ahistorical) victimhood. Yet the idea of "African" migrants had a noticeable Nigerian dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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14. The role of digital surveillance during outbreaks: the Ghana experience from COVID-19 response.
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OWUSU, ISAAC, ACHEAMPONG, GIDEON KWARTENG, AKYEREKO, ERNEST, AGYEI, NII ARYEETEY, ASHONG, MAWUFEMOR, AMOFA, ISAAC, MPANGAH, REBECCA ANN, KENU, ERNEST, ABOAGYE, RICHARD GYAN, ADU, COLLINS, AGYEMANG, KINGSLEY, NSIAH-ASARE, ANTHONY, and ASIEDU-BEKOE, FRANKLIN
- Subjects
COVID-19 pandemic ,ELECTRONIC surveillance ,DIGITAL technology ,INFORMATION dissemination - Abstract
Over the years, Ghana has made notable strides in adopting digital approaches to address societal challenges and meet demands. While the health sector, particularly the disease surveillance structure, has embraced digitization to enhance case detection, reporting, analysis, and information dissemination, critical aspects remain to be addressed. Although the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) structure has experienced remarkable growth in digitization, certain areas require further attention as was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic, recognized the importance of leveraging digital technologies to bolster the public health response. To this end, Ghana implemented various digital surveillance tools to combat the pandemic. These included the 'Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS)', the digitalized health declaration form, ArcGIS Survey123, Talkwalker, 'Lightwave Health information Management System' (LHIMS), and the 'District Health Information Management System (DHIMS)'. These digital systems significantly contributed to the country's success in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. One key area where digital systems have proved invaluable is in the timely production of daily COVID-19 situational updates. This task would have been arduous and delayed if reliant solely on paper-based forms, which hinder efficient reporting to other levels within the health system. By adopting these digital systems, Ghana has been able to overcome such challenges and provide up-to-date information for making informed public health decisions. This paper attempts to provide an extensive description of the digital systems currently employed to enhance Ghana's paper-based disease surveillance system in the context of its response to COVID-19. The article explores the strengths and challenges or limitations associated with these digital systems for responding to outbreaks, offering valuable lessons that can be learned from their implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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15. A mathematical model of COVID-19 with multiple variants of the virus under optimal control in Ghana.
- Author
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Kim YR, Min Y, and Okogun-Odompley JN
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- Humans, Ghana epidemiology, COVID-19 prevention & control, COVID-19 epidemiology, COVID-19 virology, COVID-19 transmission, SARS-CoV-2 genetics, Basic Reproduction Number, Models, Theoretical
- Abstract
In this paper, we suggest a mathematical model of COVID-19 with multiple variants of the virus under optimal control. Mathematical modeling has been used to gain deeper insights into the transmission of COVID-19, and various prevention and control strategies have been implemented to mitigate its spread. Our model is a SEIR-based model for multi-strains of COVID-19 with 7 compartments. We also consider the circulatory structure to account for the termination of immunity for COVID-19. The model is established in terms of the positivity and boundedness of the solution and the existence of equilibrium points, and the local stability of the solution. As a result of fitting data of COVID-19 in Ghana to the model, the basic reproduction number of the original virus and Delta variant was estimated to be 1.9396, and the basic reproduction number of the Omicron variant was estimated to be 3.4905, which is 1.8 times larger than that. We observe that even small differences in the incubation and recovery periods of two strains with the same initial transmission rate resulted in large differences in the number of infected individuals. In the case of COVID-19, infections caused by the Omicron variant occur 1.5 to 10 times more than those caused by the original virus. In terms of the optimal control strategy, we formulate three control strategies focusing on social distancing, vaccination, and testing-treatment. We have developed an optimal control model for the three strategies outlined above for the multi-strain model using the Pontryagin's Maximum Principle. Through numerical simulations, we analyze three optimal control strategies for each strain and also consider combinations of the two control strategies. As a result of the simulation, all control strategies are effective in reducing disease spread, in particular, vaccination strategies are more effective than the other two control strategies. In addition the combination of the two strategies also reduces the number of infected individuals by 1/10 compared to implementing one strategy, even when mild levels are implemented. Finally, we show that if the testing-treatment strategy is not properly implemented, the number of asymptomatic and unidentified infections may surge. These results could help guide the level of government intervention and prevention strategy formulation., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Kim et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
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- 2024
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16. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on handwashing practices among community members in the middle belt of Ghana: evidence from a cross-sectional study.
- Author
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Apraku EA, Abubakari SW, Tetteh RJ, Afari-Asiedu S, Harrison ES, Agbokey F, Nyame S, Twumasi MF, Adeapena W, Zandoh C, Abokyi LN, Febir LG, and Asante KP
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- Humans, Cross-Sectional Studies, Ghana epidemiology, Female, Male, Adult, Middle Aged, Adolescent, Young Adult, Surveys and Questionnaires, Health Behavior, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Hand Disinfection, COVID-19 prevention & control, COVID-19 epidemiology
- Abstract
Handwashing is an effective public health intervention for preventing the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Maintenance of clean hands is particularly important during the pandemic, to break the cycle of human-to-human transmission of the virus. This study explored the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the handwashing behaviours of residents before and during the pandemic. A mixed-method cross-sectional design using standardised questionnaire was used to examine hand handwashing behaviours among residents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the middle belt of Ghana. However, this paper reports on the quantitative data on handwashing behaviour only. A total of 517 participants between 18 to 60 years were randomly selected from the Kintampo Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) database. Descriptive statistics were performed and McNamar test was used to estimate the difference in the handwashing behaviour of residents. Majority of the respondents were females (54.6%). The majority of them 77.0% (398) usually wash their hands with soap and water. Those who washed hands 4 to 6 times a day before the pandemic increased from 39.9% (159) to 43.7% (174). About 34.8% (180) had received training on hand washing and television 53.3% (96) emerged as the main source of training. Ownership of handwashing facilities increased from 11.4% (59) to 22.8% (118) during the pandemic. The odds of handwashing after handshaking were lower 0.64 (95% C1: 0.44-0.92,) during the pandemic. Television (53.3%) was the main source of training for respondents who had received training on handwashing (34.8%). The odds of owning a handwashing facility during the pandemic were 3 times higher than before (OR = 2.97, 95% CI: 1.94 - 4.65). The odds of handwashing after sneezing were 1.8 (95% CI: 1.19-2.92) times higher during the pandemic. Handwashing behaviours during the pandemic improved among residents than before. However, there is a need to intensify health education and media engagement on proper handwashing practices to protect the population against infectious diseases., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright: Edward Anane Apraku et al.)
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- 2024
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17. SARS-CoV-2 incidence monitoring and statistical estimation of the basic and time-varying reproduction number at the early onset of the pandemic in 45 sub-Saharan African countries.
- Author
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Oduro MS, Arhin-Donkor S, Asiedu L, Kadengye DT, and Iddi S
- Subjects
- Humans, Pandemics prevention & control, Incidence, Ghana, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 epidemiology
- Abstract
The world battled to defeat a novel coronavirus 2019 (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19), a respiratory illness that is transmitted from person to person through contacts with droplets from infected persons. Despite efforts to disseminate preventable messages and adoption of mitigation strategies by governments and the World Health Organization (WHO), transmission spread globally. An accurate assessment of the transmissibility of the coronavirus remained a public health priority for many countries across the world to fight this pandemic, especially at the early onset. In this paper, we estimated the transmission potential of COVID-19 across 45 countries in sub-Saharan Africa using three approaches, namely, [Formula: see text] based on (i) an exponential growth model (ii) maximum likelihood (ML) estimation and (iii) a time-varying basic reproduction number at the early onset of the pandemic. Using data from March 14, 2020, to May 10, 2020, sub-Saharan African countries were still grappling with COVID-19 at that point in the pandemic. The region's basic reproduction number ([Formula: see text]) was 1.89 (95% CI: 1.767 to 2.026) using the growth model and 1.513 (95% CI: 1.491 to 1.535) with the maximum likelihood method, indicating that, on average, infected individuals transmitted the virus to less than two secondary persons. Several countries, including Sudan ([Formula: see text]: 2.03), Ghana ([Formula: see text]: 1.87), and Somalia ([Formula: see text]: 1.85), exhibited high transmission rates. These findings highlighted the need for continued vigilance and the implementation of effective control measures to combat the pandemic in the region. It is anticipated that the findings in this study would not only function as a historical record of reproduction numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic in African countries, but can serve as a blueprint for addressing future pandemics of a similar nature., (© 2024. The Author(s).)
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- 2024
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18. Adjustments in purchasing arrangements to support the COVID-19 health sector response: evidence from eight middle-income countries.
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Parmar D, Mathauer I, Bloom D, Dkhimi F, Abuosi AA, Chen D, Chukwuma A, de Claro V, Comsa R, Domingo AF, Doroshenko O, Gong E, Goroshko A, Nketiah-Amponsah E, Lylozian H, Nkangu M, Onwujekwe O, Obikeze O, Pattnaik A, Rivillas JC, Tapkigen J, Vîlcu I, Wang H, and Wee Co PA
- Subjects
- Humans, Pandemics, Kenya, Ghana, Developing Countries, COVID-19 epidemiology
- Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered several changes in countries' health purchasing arrangements to accompany the adjustments in service delivery in order to meet the urgent and additional demands for COVID-19-related services. However, evidence on how these adjustments have played out in low- and middle-income countries is scarce. This paper provides a synthesis of a multi-country study of the adjustments in purchasing arrangements for the COVID-19 health sector response in eight middle-income countries (Armenia, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, Romania and Ukraine). We use secondary data assembled by country teams, as well as applied thematic analysis to examine the adjustments made to funding arrangements, benefits packages, provider payments, contracting, information management systems and governance arrangements as well as related implementation challenges. Our findings show that all countries in the study adjusted their health purchasing arrangements to varying degrees. While the majority of countries expanded their benefit packages and several adjusted payment methods to provide selected COVID-19 services, only half could provide these services free of charge. Many countries also streamlined their processes for contracting and accrediting health providers, thereby reducing administrative hurdles. In conclusion, it was important for the countries to adjust their health purchasing arrangements so that they could adequately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in some countries financing challenges resulted in issues with equity and access. However, it is uncertain whether these adjustments can and will be sustained over time, even where they have potential to contribute to making purchasing more strategic to improve efficiency, quality and equitable access in the long run., (© World Health Organization, 2024. All rights reserved. The World Health Organization has granted the Publisher permission for the reproduction of this article.)
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- 2024
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19. Preparing for future outbreaks in Ghana: An overview of current COVID-19, monkeypox, and Marburg disease outbreaks.
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Owusu, Isaac, Adu, Collins, Gyan Aboagye, Richard, Mpangah, Rebecca Ann, Acheampong, Gideon K., Akyereko, Ernest, Bonsu, Emmanuel Osei, and Peprah, Prince
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PREVENTION of infectious disease transmission ,RNA virus infections ,HEALTH policy ,PUBLIC health surveillance ,COVID-19 ,IMMUNIZATION ,COVID-19 vaccines ,MONKEYPOX ,EMERGENCY management ,MEDICAL protocols ,HEALTH literacy ,FORECASTING ,EPIDEMICS ,POLICY sciences ,CONTACT tracing - Abstract
Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana is currently grappling with simultaneous outbreaks of Marburg virus disease and human monkeypox virus. The coexistence of these outbreaks emphasizes the imperative for a collaborative and global approach to enhance surveillance and expedite case detection. While Ghana has made efforts to respond to these outbreaks, this paper outlines the lessons learned and proposes recommendations in this regard. It is crucial to intensify response efforts at the local, regional, and national levels to effectively contain the spread of these infectious diseases. Therefore, this paper suggests prioritizing the following recommendations as crucial for assisting Ghana in adequately preparing for future outbreaks and safeguarding global public health: strengthening surveillance system through digitization, rapid and effective response; risk communication and community engagement; healthcare system readiness; and research and collaboration. Also, prioritizing building healthy public policies and developing personal skills of health personnel across the country is key for future outbreak response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2023
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20. The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Children's Ministry of the Methodist Church Ghana: A Case Study of Emmanuel Society-Konongo.
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Boaheng, Isaac and Adarkwa, Frank
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COVID-19 pandemic ,CHRISTIAN communities ,SUNDAY school teachers ,METHODIST Church - Abstract
The Coronavirus-19 (Covid-19) pandemic took the whole world by surprise and caused unanticipated changes in people's life. The effect of this global pandemic on the religious, economic, political and social lives of people has been enormous. In Ghana (the context of this study) many churches experienced great challenges for their members could not fellowship together physically because of the restrictions that were imposed by the government. Churches whose members tended to depend solely on their leaders to access God's blessings learnt a bitter lesson as their members could not have any meaningful encounter with God without their Pastors. Many studies have been conducted on the effects of the pandemic on Church life with a greater focus on adult members of the Christian community. There is just a little attention paid to the impact of the pandemic on the Children's Ministry. This paper contributes to filling that gap by examining the impact of the pandemic on the Children's Ministry of the Methodist Church Ghana using the Emmanuel Society of the Konongo Circuit as a case study. It is an empirical study that gathered data through questionnaires, interviews and participant observation. The responses received revealed that there was a huge gap created between the children, other believing friends and Sunday School teachers. The paper made recommendations for the Christian community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2023
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21. The Analytic Solutions of the Fractional-Order Model for the Spatial Epidemiology of the COVID-19 Infection.
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Barnes, Benedict, Anokye, Martin, Iddrisu, Mohammed Muniru, Gawu, Bismark, and Afrifa, Emmanuel
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COVID-19 ,FRACTIONAL powers ,PARTIAL differential equations ,FRACTIONAL differential equations ,GAMMA functions ,POWER series - Abstract
This paper provides a mathematical fractional-order model that accounts for the mindset of patients in the transmission of COVID-19 disease, the continuous inflow of foreigners into the country, immunization of population subjects, and temporary loss of immunity by recovered individuals. The analytic solutions, which are given as series solutions, are derived using the fractional power series method (FPSM) and the residual power series method (RPSM). In comparison, the series solution for the number of susceptible members, using the FPSM, is proportional to the series solution, using the RPSM for the first two terms, with a proportional constant of ψ Γ n α + 1 , where ψ is the natural birth rate of the baby into the susceptible population, Γ is the gamma function, n is the n th term of the series, and α is the fractional order as the initial number of susceptible individuals approaches the population size of Ghana. However, the variation in the two series solutions of the number of members who are susceptible to the COVID-19 disease begins at the third term and continues through the remaining terms. This is brought on by the nonlinear function present in the equation for the susceptible subgroup. The similar finding is made in the series solution of the number of exposed individuals. The series solutions for the number of deviant people, the number of nondeviant people, the number of people quarantined, and the number of people recovered using the FPSM are unquestionably almost identical to the series solutions for same subgroups using the RPSM, with the exception that these series solutions have initial conditions of the subgroup of the population size. It is observed that, in this paper, the series solutions of the nonlinear system of fractional partial differential equations (PDEs) provided by the RPSM are more in line with the field data than the series solutions provided by the FPSM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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22. Ethical implications for children's exclusion in the initial COVID-19 vaccination in Ghana.
- Author
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Owusu, Samuel Asiedu
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COVID-19 vaccines ,VACCINATION of children ,HEALTH care rationing ,HEALTH facilities ,VACCINATION - Abstract
Bioethics provides various models of fair allocation of scarce health resources like COVID-19 vaccines. Even though these models are grounded in some ethical principles like justice and beneficence, there were severe inequalities in global access to COVID-19 vaccines. In Ghana, about 21.5 million COVID-19-doses have been administered but comprise mainly members of the adult population. As a result, ethical issues related to vaccinating children have been largely ignored in the country. This paper explores some of the ethical implications related to children's exclusion in the initial COVID-19 vaccination programs in Ghana. It provides a general overview of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana and how it related to children and discusses the risks to which Ghanaian children were exposed by delaying their COVID-19 vaccination. A guide to facilitating the full rollout of COVID-19 vaccination in Ghana for children has been proposed that indicates that a fair vaccine distribution for children should prioritize children on admission at health facilities, those diagnosed with severe underlying health conditions, and children who could play an instrumental role in promoting vaccine uptake. It concludes that children must not be placed at the peripheries of the COVID-19 vaccination program in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
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23. Covid-19 and the Philosophy of Education: Recuperating Africa’s Triple Heritage.
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Prempeh, Charles
- Subjects
PHILOSOPHY of education ,DIGNITY ,COVID-19 pandemic ,COVID-19 ,STAY-at-home orders ,SOCIAL impact ,WORLDVIEW - Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic mandated the closure of all schools globally. E-learning programmes were introduced to promote learning throughout the crisis. This paper, therefore, investigates the impact of Covid-19 e-learning and teaching on students’ social life, indexed by their practice of social conviviality after the pandemic. The study employed multiple sampling techniques in selecting students in the second cycle and tertiary institutions in Accra, Ghana for the study. Using data collected from extensive interviews with students, teachers/lecturers and parents, backed by personal observations, the study found out that the social skills of students were negatively impacted by the pandemic, as several of them suffered multidimensionality of social exclusion when schools were re-opened after lockdown rules were liberalised. The e-learning approach that Ghana introduced to stem the debilitating impact of the pandemic yielded some positive results – helping the education sector to retain contact hours. Nevertheless, the outcome of the pandemic had some negative social consequences. Students were unable to effectively recuperate their social skills in fostering social conviviality. Considering the outcome of the study’s findings, the paper concludes that Ghana needs to invest in its Triple Heritage – through the synthesisation of human ontological dignity -- embedded in Islam, Christianity, and indigenous worldview. This approach will help the country to restructure its educational curriculum as part of rejuvenating social conviviality among students. The paper contributes to knowledge by providing evidence of the social impact of the pandemic. However, it also recommends a need for further research to explore how Ghana can broaden the frontiers of its heritage without provincializing or marginalisation emerging minority cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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- View/download PDF
24. COVID-19 and Urban Food Security in Ghana during the Third Wave.
- Author
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Onyango, Elizabeth Opiyo, Owusu, Bernard, and Crush, Jonathan S.
- Subjects
FOOD security ,COVID-19 pandemic ,INCOME ,COVID-19 ,CITIES & towns ,URBANIZATION - Abstract
While the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on household food security have been documented, the intensity and forms of food insecurity in urban households in the Global South have not been adequately explored. This is despite the emerging consensus that impacts of the pandemic were more severe in urban than rural Africa. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by examining the relationship between pandemic precarity and food insecurity in Ghana's urban areas during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This study is based on the World Bank (WB) and Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) COVID-19 High-Frequency Phone Survey. Using a sub-sample of 1423 urban households, the paper evaluates household experiences of the pandemic. Our findings show that household demographic characteristics are not a major predictor of food insecurity. Economic factors, especially the impact of the pandemic on wage income and total household income, were far more important, with those most affected being most food insecure. Additionally, food-insecure households were most aware of and were affected by food-price increases during the pandemic. These findings are important in planning the post-pandemic recovery initiatives and in addressing current and future emergencies and shocks to urban food systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
25. COVID-19 and Microcredit: Dissecting an NGO's Training, Financial Support, and Women Empowerment Programmes.
- Author
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Dotsey, Senyo
- Subjects
WOMEN'S empowerment ,SELF-efficacy ,MICROFINANCE ,COVID-19 ,COVID-19 pandemic ,NONGOVERNMENTAL organizations - Abstract
This paper reports the findings from a microcredit (financial inclusion) scheme that has been operated by a non-governmental organization since 2012 in a local community in Ghana, and sustained through the COVID-19 pandemic. It first examines microfinance, women's empowerment and third-sector organizational dynamics. It then provides an overview of microfinance in Ghana within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by dissecting the organization's microcredit, training and women's empowerment programmes. The following part documents the findings, with brief concluding thoughts and policy implications appearing in the last section. It is argued here that financial schemes, particularly those operated by third-sector organizations, can play a significant role in helping women in particular to deal with the secondary effects of COVID-19 by providing improved non-financial services and easy access to microfinance at low, sustainable interest rates. These findings have implications for policy formulation and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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- View/download PDF
26. District-level analysis of socio-demographic factors and COVID-19 infections in Greater Accra and Ashanti regions, Ghana.
- Author
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Owusu AB, Yiran GAB, Afagbedzi SK, and Takyi E
- Subjects
- Humans, Adolescent, Young Adult, Adult, Middle Aged, Ghana epidemiology, Travel, Religion, Demography, COVID-19 epidemiology
- Abstract
Since December 2019 when COVID-19 was detected, it took the world by surprise in terms of spread and morbidity/mortality. The high rate of spread and casualties recorded from COVID-19 called for research in all directions to find ways to contain and reverse the incidences. It is against this background that this paper sought to measure the association of the socio-demographic factors in the hard-hit districts in Greater Accra and Ashanti to analyze its relationship with the novel COVID-19 virus. Data on COVID-19 cases from 35 Districts in both Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions were collected from the Ghana Health Service and population data from Ghana Statistical Service. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were generated using R. We found that some socio-demographic variables have an association with COVID-19 infections. For example, age and religion especially Christianity and Islam pose risk to COVID-19. The population aged 15-64 was particularly at high risk of infections due to the high level of movement of this age group. We, therefore, recommend that places of congregation such as Churches and Mosques be targeted for vigorous sensitization on COVID-19 protocols and prevention. Also, districts with a high population between the ages of 15-64 should step sensitization efforts to educate their inhabitants on the need to reduce travel and related activities to curb the spread of the virus., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Owusu, Yiran, Afagbedzi and Takyi.)
- Published
- 2023
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27. COVID-19 Safety Protocols: Do Commuters Prefer Public Transport after Relaxation of Safety Protocol Enforcement?
- Author
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ATOMBO, CHARLES, AKPLE, MAXWELL SELASE, and TURKSON, RICHARD FIIFI
- Subjects
PUBLIC transit ,COVID-19 ,HAND care & hygiene ,VIRUS diseases ,HAND sanitizers ,PUBLIC transit ridership - Abstract
There is a current discourse on how COVID-19 will impact future use of public services by people. At the time of writing this paper, most countries around the globe had relaxed safety protocol enforcement. This may change individual use of public transport, and policy implementations. The study mainly used Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR) to examine the use of public transport ridership after the relaxation of COVID-19 safety protocol enforcement. A survey was used to collect data from 1692 respondents across Ghana partly online and partly face-to-face interviews from April 20
th , 2022 to June 5th , 2022. The preliminary findings show that the use of private cars declined during the enforcement of safety protocols. However, after relaxation of safety protocol enforcement, the use of private transport increased more than public transport. The Relative Importance Index revealed that ‘facemask wearing covering both nose and mouth’, ‘reduction in the number of occupants per vehicle’, ‘the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer’, and ‘vehicles cleaned after every trip’ were the most important safety protocols perceived to prevent infection of the virus. However, the MLR model shows that largely, relaxation of mandatory facemask wearing, social distancing, hand hygiene, and disinfection of transport could decrease public transport ridership. These findings suggest that the COVID-19 infection anxiety had not faded and could decrease public transport ridership. To relieve the anxiety regarding virus infection through the use of public transportation, the government needs to take appropriate measures to lower the perceived risk of infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2023
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- View/download PDF
28. Population-based sero-epidemiological investigation of the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
- Author
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Mensah BA, Ndong IC, Quashie PK, Guichet E, Abuaku B, Effah-Baafi Y, Tapela K, Asiedu K, Appiedu-Addo SNA, Obbeng LB, Amponsah JA, Kusi KA, Ofori M, Ayouba A, Courtin D, Tahar R, Delaporte E, Awandare G, and Ndam NT
- Subjects
- Humans, Aged, SARS-CoV-2, Seroepidemiologic Studies, Ghana epidemiology, Pandemics, Antibodies, Viral, COVID-19 epidemiology
- Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic devastated countries worldwide, and resulted in a global shutdown. Not all infections are symptomatic and hence the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the community is unknown. The paper presents the dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in the Greater Accra Metropolis, describing the evolution of seroprevalence through time and by age group. Three repeated independent population-based surveys at 6-week intervals were conducted in from November 2020 to July 2021. The global and by age-groups weighted seroprevalences were estimated and the risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 antibody seropositivity were assessed using logistic regression. The overall age-standardized SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence for both spike and nucleocapsid increased from 13.8% (95% CI 11.9, 16.1) in November 2020 to 39.6% (95% CI 34.8, 44.6) in July 2021. After controlling for gender, marital status, education level, and occupation, the older age group over 40 years had a higher odds of seropositivity than the younger age group (OR 3.0 [95% CI 1.1-8.5]) in the final survey. Pupils or students had 3.3-fold increased odds of seropositivity (OR 3.2 [95% CI 1.1-8.5]) compared to the unemployed. This study reinforces that, SARS-CoV-2 infections have been significantly higher than reported., (© 2022. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2022
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29. "No Jab, No Entry": A Constitutional and Human Rights Perspective on Vaccine Mandates in Ghana.
- Author
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Addadzi-Koom ME
- Subjects
- Humans, Ghana, Human Rights, Public Health, COVID-19 prevention & control, Vaccines
- Abstract
As part of global efforts to reach herd immunity to stem the spread of COVID-19, the government of Ghana in 2021 declared December as the month of vaccination. Along with the declaration were statements about the government's intention to make vaccination mandatory in January 2022 for select groups of persons and to restrict access of unvaccinated persons to certain public spaces. The directives attracted varied reactions since they touched on constitutionally guaranteed fundamental human rights. Later, in March 2022, the president eased some restrictions, such as mask wearing and social distancing at public events but subject to all users being fully vaccinated. This paper analyzes the constitutional and human rights implications of a vaccine mandate in Ghana. It answers the question, Is mandatory vaccination necessary and appropriate given the COVID-19 situation in Ghana? I make a case for finding a reasonable balance between the personal liberties of Ghanaians and the state's responsibility to protect public health. Using the proportionality test, I argue that while mandatory vaccination is permissible within Ghana's legal and constitutional framework, a tiered approach is preferable., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (Copyright © 2022 Addadzi-Koom.)
- Published
- 2022
30. COVID-19 Dialogue on Facebook: Crisis Communication Relationship between Ghanaian Authorities and Citizens.
- Author
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Ansah, Patrick Owusu
- Subjects
CRISIS communication ,COVID-19 pandemic ,INFORMATION retrieval - Abstract
The paper explored how the Ministry of Information (M.O.I.), the official mouthpiece of the government of Ghana, interacted with citizens during the COVID-19 outbreak within the context of crisis communication as a tool for authority-citizen engagement on Facebook. Content analysis of COVID-19 comments on the Ministry of Information's official Facebook page showed higher participation in the discussion from citizens. However, authorities only provided information by being inactive participants in the interaction. The dominant issues focused on Ghanaian authorities and their actions, the course of events surrounding the pandemic, infected cases and deaths, and Ghana's recovery efforts. The active publics provided information, asked and answered questions, and expressed their opinions as the discussions were ongoing. The comments portrayed negative, positive, and neutral tones. The paper also revealed diverse challenges that are likely to hinder crisis communication during the pandemic, from the inflexibility of action, quality of information, and disparity of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
31. Development of a community-based COVID-19 intervention in rural Ghana: a document analysis.
- Author
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Frimpong SO, Seidu M, Hilton SK, Ransome Y, Paintsil E, Talbert-Slagle K, Dorcoo-Attipoe S, and Brayne C
- Subjects
- Ghana epidemiology, Health Services Research, Humans, Pandemics prevention & control, Rural Population, COVID-19 prevention & control
- Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the loss of millions of lives and economic breakdowns in many countries across the globe. Despite the limited availability of vaccines and the challenges of poor health infrastructure, few interventions have been developed and implemented for those who live in rural areas, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In response, Cocoa360, a global health nonprofit in rural Ghana designed an intervention called Cocoa360's COVID-19 Preparedness and Outbreak Prevention Plan (CoCoPOPP). This paper aimed to examine the extent to which CoCoPOPP's design aligned with the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework., Methods: We reviewed documents influencing CoCoPOPP's design between March and June 2021. A total of 11 documents were identified for analysis. Using the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework as a guide, thematic analysis was done to analyze the extracted data., Results: Overall, CoCoPOPP's design aligned with the evidence, context, and facilitation domains of the PARIHS framework. It positioned CoCoPOPP as an intervention that considered the unique context of a rural Ghanaian setting. It was guided by robust and high-quality published and non-published evidence and engaged external and internal stakeholders during its implementation. CoCoPOPP's context-dependent nature positions it for potential replication in sub-Saharan Africa's rural communities with similar farming contexts. Specific areas that were less well and/or not addressed were the unintended negative consequences of community engagement, the absence of primary data in the guiding evidence, and the lack of a facilitation continuum coupled with the role of power during the facilitation process., Conclusion: CoCoPOPP, Cocoa360's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in rural Ghana, is an evidence-driven, context-dependent public health intervention that has been designed to reduce COVID-19 infections and prevent potential deaths. This study underscores the importance of considering the unique community and cultural contexts, employing evidence, and engaging local and external actors as facilitators when designing interventions to respond to global health pandemics., (© 2022. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2022
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- View/download PDF
32. Mathematical Analysis of COVID-19 Transmission Dynamics Model in Ghana with Double-Dose Vaccination and Quarantine.
- Author
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Akuka PNA, Seidu B, and Bornaa CS
- Subjects
- COVID-19 Vaccines, Ghana, Humans, Quarantine, Vaccination methods, COVID-19 epidemiology, COVID-19 prevention & control, Vaccines
- Abstract
The discovery of vaccines for COVID-19 has been helpful in the fight against the spread of the disease. Even with these vaccines, the virus continues to spread in many countries, with some vaccinated persons even reported to have been infected, calling for administration of booster vaccines. The need for continued use of nonpharmaceutical interventions to complement the administration of vaccines cannot therefore be overemphasized. This study presents a novel mathematical model to study the impact of quarantine and double-dose vaccination on the spread of the disease. The local stability analysis of the COVID-19-free and endemic equilibria is examined using the Lyapunov second technique. The equilibria are found to be locally asymptotically stable if ℛ
0 > 1, respectively. Besides other analytical results, numerical simulations are performed to illustrate the analytical results established in the paper.ℛ0 > 1, respectively. Besides other analytical results, numerical simulations are performed to illustrate the analytical results established in the paper., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to report regarding the present study., (Copyright © 2022 Philip N. A. Akuka et al.)- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
33. Cost analysis of health workforce investments for COVID-19 response in Ghana.
- Author
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Asamani JA, Ismaila H, Okoroafor SC, Frimpong KA, Oduro-Mensah E, Chebere M, Ahmat A, Nabyonga-Orem J, Christmals CD, Nyoni J, and Kuma-Aboagye P
- Subjects
- Costs and Cost Analysis, Ghana, Humans, Pandemics, COVID-19, Health Workforce
- Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic had multiple adverse impacts on the health workforce that constrained their capacity to contain and combat the disease. To mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the Ghanaian health workforce, the government implemented a strategy to recruit qualified but unemployed health workers to fill staffing gaps and incentivise all public sector health workers. This paper estimated the cost of the new recruitments and incentives given to health workers and presented lessons for health workforce planning in future health emergencies towards health systems resilience. Between March and November 2020, 45 107 health workers were recruited, representing a 35% boost in the public sector health workforce capacity, and an increase in the recurrent public health sector wage bill by about GHS103 229 420 (US$17 798 176) per month, and about GHS1.24 billion (US$213.58 million) per annum. To incentivise the health workforce, the government announced a waiver of personal income taxes for all health workers in the public sector from April to December 2020 and offered a 50% additional allowance to some health workers. We estimate that the Government of Ghana spent about GH¢16.93 million (equivalent to US$2.92 million) monthly as COVID-19 response incentives, which translates into US$35 million by the end of 2020. Ghana invested considerably in health workforce recruitment and incentives to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an almost 37% increase in the public sector wage bill. Strengthening investments in decent employment, protection and safety for the health workforce using the various resources are helpful in addressing future pandemics., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)
- Published
- 2022
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- View/download PDF
34. Mathematical Modelling of the Spatial Epidemiology of COVID-19 with Different Diffusion Coefficients.
- Author
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Barnes, Benedict, Takyi, Ishmael, Emmanuel Owusu, Bright, Ohene Boateng, Francis, Saahene, Augustine, Saarah Baidoo, Emmanuel, and Aduko Adombire, Jennifer
- Subjects
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL models ,DIFFUSION coefficients ,STABILITY of nonlinear systems ,COVID-19 ,INFECTIOUS disease transmission - Abstract
This paper addresses the discrepancy between model findings and field data obtained and how it is minimized using the binning smoothing techniques: means, medians, and boundaries. Employing both the quantitative and the qualitative methods to examine the complex pattern involved in COVID-19 transmission dynamics reveals model variation and provides a boundary signature for the potential of the disease's future spread across the country. To better understand the main underlying factor responsible for the epidemiology of COVID-19 infection in Ghana, the continuous inflow of foreigners, both with and without the disease, was incorporated into the classical Susceptible-Exposed-Quarantined-Recovered SEIQR model, which revealed the spread of the COVID-19 by these foreigners. Also, the diffusion model provided therein gives a threshold condition for the spatial spread of the COVID-19 infection in Ghana. Following the introduction of a new method for the construction of the Lyapunov function for global stability of the nonlinear system of ODEs was observed, overcoming the problem of guessing for the Lyapunov function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
35. Weightier Matters: Examining CEO Activism Issues in Ghana's non-Western Context.
- Author
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Adae, Eric Kwame
- Subjects
STRATEGIC communication ,ACTIVISM ,BUSINESS & politics ,SOCIAL advocacy ,WOMEN chief executive officers ,ENVIRONMENTAL activism ,CHIEF executive officers ,BUSINESS ethics - Abstract
Trendwatchers have spotted some seismic shifts in relations between business and politics. Particularly, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are increasingly weighing in on greater good issues. Although a global phenomenon, current CEO activism scholarship reflects a Western focus; an ideological bias for modernist perspectives; a preponderance of White male CEO voices, and the relative elision of female activist CEOs. While, generally, no empirically-based typology of the sociopolitical issues that matter to activist CEOs exists, the specific range of causes of particular concern to non-Western CEO activists is neatly absent. This paper addresses all of these concerns, offering an inquiry into the emerging CEO activism phenomenon in the Ghanaian non-Western sociocultural milieu. Data collection entailed three separate rounds of fieldwork that saw long interviews with a corps of 24 self-identified informants, featuring an even split of men and women activist CEOs. The hermeneutic phenomenological theme-based approach guided data analysis. Following extant brand activism models, a typology of six clusters of CEO activism issues is offered that highlights the weightier matters of sociocultural activism, environmental activism, business/workplace activism, political activism, legal activism, and economic activism. Sociocultural issues include Ghana's fight against COVID-19, where activist CEOs pooled resources to construct and equip a new multimillion dollar 100-bed infectious diseases hospital facility, embarked on risk communication campaigns, donated critical health supplies, funded the screening and testing of employees, provided food and essential supplies to vulnerable groups, and called out the government for lapses in the management of this health crisis. Besides internationalizing CEO activism studies for the strategic communications, leadership, business ethics and responsible management fields, the results suggest the need to consider the perspectives of CEO activists in non-Western societies. This paper contributes mainly to current discussions in CEO activism (aka corporate social advocacy) and brand activism. It contributes to other theoretical and conceptual streams, including covenantal notions of public relations, Caritas, Ubuntu Philosophy, Africapitalism, and postmodern values in strategic communication. This paper contributes to the upper echelon perspective; insider activism; sustainability transitions; and current discussions concerning how to address issues of diversity, equity, inclusivity, and social justice in the public relations literature. Policy implications are laid out, and areas for future research are indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
36. Parenting practices and family relationships during the COVID-19 lockdown in Ghana.
- Author
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Owusu, Samuel Asiedu, Ekumah, Bernard, Kodom, Ruby Victoria, Ebu Enyan, Nancy Innocentia, Aboh, Irene Korkoi, Quansah, Reginald, Boamah, Sheila A., Boateng, Godfred O., Obiri-Yeboah, Dorcas, Doku, David Teye, Nsabimana, Epaphrodite, Jansen, Stefan, and Ato Armah, Frederick
- Subjects
FAMILY relations ,COVID-19 pandemic ,COVID-19 ,STAY-at-home orders ,PARENTING - Abstract
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been far reaching across almost every sphere of life. Families, which are the basic units of society, have not been spared the ravages of the pandemic. Changes in family daily routines as a result of COVID-19 can affect spousal relationships, parenting and childcare practices. However, the extent to which the pandemic has affected parenting practices and family relationships in Ghana is not known. The goal of this study was to assess how parenting practices and family relationships have been influenced during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana. Data for this paper was drawn from an online questionnaire response from 463 participants in Ghana as a subset analysis from a multi-country study on personal and family coping system with COVID-19 pandemic in the global south. The mean score for pre-COVID-19 relationship with partner (36.86) was higher (p<0.0001) than the mean score for during COVID-19 relationship with partner (35.32) indicating that COVID-19 has had negative influence on relationships. The mean score for pre-COVID-19 parenting (32.78) was higher (p<0.0001) compared to the mean score for during COVID-19 parenting (31.40) indicating negative influence on parenting. We have predicted that participants whose coping levels were "Well" on the average, are likely to be doing well in relationship with partners and parenting practices during the COVID-19 period. The challenging public health containment measures of the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively influenced the relationship between partners and parenting practices in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
37. Does the data tell the true story? A modelling assessment of early COVID-19 pandemic suppression and mitigation strategies in Ghana.
- Author
-
Frempong NK, Acheampong T, Apenteng OO, Nakua E, and Amuasi JH
- Subjects
- Ghana epidemiology, Humans, Models, Statistical, Public Health, Quarantine, COVID-19 epidemiology, COVID-19 prevention & control, COVID-19 transmission, Pandemics prevention & control
- Abstract
This paper uses publicly available data and various statistical models to estimate the basic reproduction number (R0) and other disease parameters for Ghana's early COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. We also test the effectiveness of government imposition of public health measures to reduce the risk of transmission and impact of the pandemic, especially in the early phase. R0 is estimated from the statistical model as 3.21 using a 0.147 estimated growth rate [95% C.I.: 0.137-0.157] and a 15-day time to recovery after COVID-19 infection. This estimate of the initial R0 is consistent with others reported in the literature from other parts of Africa, China and Europe. Our results also indicate that COVID-19 transmission reduced consistently in Ghana after the imposition of public health interventions-such as border restrictions, intra-city movement, quarantine and isolation-during the first phase of the pandemic from March to May 2020. However, the time-dependent reproduction number (Rt) beyond mid-May 2020 does not represent the true situation, given that there was not a consistent testing regime in place. This is also confirmed by our Jack-knife bootstrap estimates which show that the positivity rate over-estimates the true incidence rate from mid-May 2020. Given concerns about virus mutations, delays in vaccination and a possible new wave of the pandemic, there is a need for systematic testing of a representative sample of the population to monitor the reproduction number. There is also an urgent need to increase the availability of testing for the general population to enable early detection, isolation and treatment of infected individuals to reduce progression to severe disease and mortality., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
38. Zero-Inflated Time Series Modelling of COVID-19 Deaths in Ghana.
- Author
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Tawiah K, Iddrisu WA, and Asampana Asosega K
- Subjects
- Binomial Distribution, Ghana epidemiology, Humans, Mortality trends, Poisson Distribution, Reproducibility of Results, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 mortality, Interrupted Time Series Analysis methods, Models, Statistical
- Abstract
Discrete count time series data with an excessive number of zeros have warranted the development of zero-inflated time series models to incorporate the inflation of zeros and the overdispersion that comes with it. In this paper, we investigated the characteristics of the trend of daily count of COVID-19 deaths in Ghana using zero-inflated models. We envisaged that the trend of COVID-19 deaths per day in Ghana portrays a general increase from the onset of the pandemic in the country to about day 160 after which there is a general decrease onward. We fitted a zero-inflated Poisson autoregressive model and zero-inflated negative binomial autoregressive model to the data in the partial-likelihood framework. The zero-inflated negative binomial autoregressive model outperformed the zero-inflated Poisson autoregressive model. On the other hand, the dynamic zero-inflated Poisson autoregressive model performed better than the dynamic negative binomial autoregressive model. The predicted new death based on the zero-inflated negative binomial autoregressive model indicated that Ghana's COVID-19 death per day will rise sharply few days after 30
th November 2020 and drastically fall just as in the observed data., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Kassim Tawiah et al.)- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
39. Industrial and Organizational Psychology in Ghana: Recent Developments in the Training and Practice.
- Author
-
Oppong, Seth
- Subjects
CUSTOMS unions ,MEDICAL personnel ,PSYCHOLOGICAL research ,INFORMAL sector ,COVID-19 pandemic ,INDUSTRIAL psychology - Abstract
The practice of psychology in Ghana is growing and this growth has further been facilitated by the strengthening of the Ghana Psychological Association and the passing of the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857). The practice of industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology has also benefited from the general growth in the practice of psychology in Ghana. In this paper, I provide an update on the training and practice of I-O psychology since the last major publication about the field in Ghana (see Oppong, 2013a). Some of the major developments since the last publication include the achievement of autochthonization through the production of home-grown doctoral-level I-O psychologists and the fact that I-O psychology research seems to be moving away from a focus on professionals (salaried workers) in the formal economy in high-income jobs to non-salaried workers in the informal economy. Prospects for the future are discussed in line with the recent developments in the business environment in Ghana and Africa, especially the establishment of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. The lessons learned from the training and practice of I-O psychology in Ghana may have implications for the growth and practice of the discipline in other non-Western societies and worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
40. Colonial Virus": COVID-19, creative arts and public health communication in Ghana.
- Author
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de-Graft Aikins A and Akoi-Jackson B
- Subjects
- Behavior Therapy methods, Creativity, Ghana, Humans, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 prevention & control, Health Communication methods, Health Promotion methods, Medicine in the Arts, Public Health methods
- Abstract
Since March 2020, Ghana's creative arts communities have tracked the complex facets of the COVID-19 pandemic through various art forms. This paper reports a study that analysed selected 'COVID art forms' through arts and health and critical health psychology frameworks. Art forms produced between March and July 2020, and available in the public sphere - traditional media, social media and public spaces - were collated. The data consisted of comedy, cartoons, songs, murals and textile designs. Three key functions emerged from analysis: health promotion (comedy, cartoons, songs); disease prevention (masks); and improving the aesthetics of the healthcare environment (murals). Textile designs performed broader socio-cultural functions of memorialising and political advocacy. Similar to earlier HIV/AIDS and Ebola arts interventions in other African countries, these Ghanaian COVID art forms translated public health information on COVID-19 in ways that connected emotionally, created social awareness and improved public understanding. However, some art forms had limitations: for example, songs that edutained using fear-based strategies or promoting conspiracy theories on the origins and treatment of COVID-19, and state-sponsored visual art that represented public health messaging decoupled from socio-economic barriers to health protection. These were likely to undermine the public health communication goals of behaviour modification. We outline concrete approaches to incorporate creative arts into COVID-19 public health interventions and post-pandemic health systems strengthening in Ghana., Funding: None declared., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: None declared, (Copyright © The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
41. Keeping the Camera On: Adapting Pedagogy in the Time of COVID.
- Author
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King, James Sterling
- Subjects
VIRTUAL classrooms ,COVID-19 pandemic ,COVID-19 ,LEARNING ,HOUSING stability - Abstract
I have had the privilege of offering instruction in English Literature at the College/University level for over 25 years. During that time, I have encountered a broad range of students, from Community College enrollees trying to satisfy an educational requirement for work or certification, 16-year-old Early College students grappling with new intellectual and physical freedoms, to urban classrooms in New York following the tragic events of 9/11. Our recent COVID crisis is today's challenge and it has been daunting, especially for a traditional face-toface teacher like me. Whether teaching in the United States, or during the time I taught graduate students in Ghana, I discovered that contextualization is critical to most, if not all aspects of literature pedagogy in practice. The Pandemic has had collateral impacts in many areas of student's lives beyond their health and wellbeing vis a vis the virus itself. Housing and food insecurity for students has grown during this period, at a remarkable rate, as have instances of psychological, physiological, mental health issues andenvironmental stressors. All these factors impact a student's ability to engage and properly synthesize material introduced during ZOOM classroom sessions impacting their engagement in the learning process. This paper will explore and discuss strategies utilized to mitigate the impact of these realities on the classroom experience and share methods for successful engagement/learning experience with classroom populations, be they F2F, or synchronous/hybrid/Asynchronous, options in apost-COVID world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
42. Socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on Ghana's economy: challenges and prospects.
- Author
-
Aduhene, David Tanoh and Osei-Assibey, Eric
- Subjects
COVID-19 ,COVID-19 pandemic ,PANDEMICS ,DISCOURSE analysis ,DEVELOPED countries ,HOSPITALITY industry personnel - Abstract
Purpose: The world's economies are on their knees following the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic over the past 8 months. Growing number of researches has been conducted on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on developed countries with little attention on developing countries, who are still grappling with the negative impact of the coronavirus. The rationale for this study is to assess the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on Ghana's economy and government response to the pandemic as well as policy options to revive the ailing economy. Design/methodology/approach: This study explored the socio-economic impact of the coronavirus on Ghana's economy using a discourse analysis with data from various secondary sources to analyze the impact of the pandemic from the Ghanaian perspective. Findings: The findings from the discourse analysis revealed that the coronavirus pandemic has negatively impacted on the socio-economic situation of the citizens of Ghana. Whiles an estimated 42,000 people lost their jobs in the first two months of the pandemic in Ghana, tourist attraction sector of the country alone lost $171 million dollars in the past three months due to the partial lockdown and closure of tourism and hospitality centers in the country. The study revealed that Ghana's healthcare system has been overwhelmed by the number of increasing cases in the country to extent of making use of temporary structures as isolation and treatment centers of the pandemic. The study revealed that Ghana may convert these challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic into prospects and opportunities by investing massively in the health sector and creating support for the SMEs which creates massive employment for many Ghanaians. Research limitations/implications: This study focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 on Ghana's economy and how the pandemic has negatively affected the country. The study is an exploratory study that makes use of secondary data. However, conducting a study with primary data sources from specific communities or regions in the country may not produce the same results. The results from the primary level or community level may be different from the general results obtained from the study. In future it is expected that the study focuses specifically on the extent of the coronavirus pandemic on Ghana's fiscal deficit which seems to have ballooned in recent times. Originality/value: The study is the first of its kind to extensively explore the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Ghanaian economy. The novelty of this paper is that it recognizes governments response to the pandemic and proposes three practical measures adopted to put the country's economy back on its feet through survive, revive and ensuring growth in all sectors of the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2021
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43. Policy Responses to fight COVID-19; the case of Ghana.
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Antwi-Boasiako, Joseph, Abbey, Charles Othniel A., Ogbey, Patrick, and Amponsah Ofori, Rita
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COVID-19 pandemic ,HEALTH policy ,ENERGY subsidies ,HEALTH planning - Abstract
Copyright of RAP: Revista Brasileira de Administração Pública is the property of RAP: Revista Brasileira de Administracao Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2021
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44. "Colonial Virus": COVID-19, creative arts and public health communication in Ghana.
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Aikins, Ama de-Graft and Akoi-Jackson, Bernard
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MEDICAL communication ,PUBLIC art ,COVID-19 ,COVID-19 pandemic ,PUBLIC health - Abstract
Since March 2020, Ghana's creative arts communities have tracked the complex facets of the COVID-19 pandemic through various art forms. This paper reports a study that analysed selected 'COVID art forms' through arts and health and critical health psychology frameworks. Art forms produced between March and July 2020, and available in the public sphere - traditional media, social media and public spaces - were collated. The data consisted of comedy, cartoons, songs, murals and textile designs. Three key functions emerged from analysis: health promotion (comedy, cartoons, songs); disease prevention (masks); and improving the aesthetics of the healthcare environment (murals). Textile designs performed broader socio-cultural functions of memorialising and political advocacy. Similar to earlier HIV/AIDS and Ebola arts interventions in other African countries, these Ghanaian COVID art forms translated public health information on COVID-19 in ways that connected emotionally, created social awareness and improved public understanding. However, some art forms had limitations: for example, songs that edutained using fear-based strategies or promoting conspiracy theories on the origins and treatment of COVID-19, and state-sponsored visual art that represented public health messaging decoupled from socio-economic barriers to health protection. These were likely to undermine the public health communication goals of behaviour modification. We outline concrete approaches to incorporate creative arts into COVID-19 public health interventions and post-pandemic health systems strengthening in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2020
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45. Fighting a global pandemic and local stigmatisation: War metaphors in presidential update speeches and their effect on attitudes to COVID-19 (Patients) in Ghana.
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Pedavoah, Emma Kusuoba and Ansah, Gladys Nyarko
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COVID-19 pandemic ,PRESIDENTIAL messages - Abstract
Ghana's President has used WAR-framed metaphors in announcing and explaining both the notion of COVID-19 and the measures his government outlined to curb its spread. This paper explores the potential effects the various conceptual mappings in the WAR-framed communication by the President had on the general public in dealing with a global pandemic in a local context. This is achieved by linking the mappings in the WAR-framed communication to the attitudes and practices among the Ghanaian public. Data were drawn from 8 presidential COVID-19 updates between March 15 and May 31, 2020. Findings indicate that the use of WAR-framed communication successfully evoked fear among the general population. However, this transcended the virus to COVID-19 patients (and their families), provoking a cause of action among the general public to fight not only the virus but also COVID-19 patients (and their families). This appears to have caused stigmatisation of COVID-19 patients, and led to a situation where COVID-19 positive patients became unwilling to declare their positive status and thus caused further community spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2023
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46. Crisis communications at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic: A case study of the Ghanaian president's fourth update on coronavirus.
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Koller, Veronika
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CRISIS communication ,COVID-19 pandemic - Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic was a testbed for crisis communication, leading to recommendations on how to meet communicative goals and several individual case studies. This paper contributes to the latter by engaging in a detailed three-level analysis of an early, pivotal address to the nation by Ghana's president Nana Akufo-Addo. In terms of infection rates and deaths, Ghana has been much less severely impacted by the pandemic than other countries, making it worthwhile to look at the role of official communications. This study investigates how the president addressed the public at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, in what ways the linguistic features of his address reflected the specific political context, and what potential impact his language use had on the behaviour of the public. Findings show that linguistic and, to a lesser extent, visual elements represent the president as powerful, authoritative, but somewhat detached from the audience. However, this is balanced by direct appeals to the same audience, whose cooperation he seeks to win rather than enforce. This balance reflects the political and sociocultural context of the text, as further evidenced by comments on the address on Akufo-Addo's Facebook page. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2023
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47. Unpacking the impact of COVID-19 on child immunization: evidence from Ghana.
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Durizzo, Kathrin, Awoonor-Williams, Koku, Harttgen, Kenneth, and Günther, Isabel
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IMMUNIZATION of children ,COVID-19 ,INFECTIOUS disease transmission ,COVID-19 pandemic ,MEDICAL care ,POLIO - Abstract
Background: With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments implemented social distancing regulations to limit the spread of the disease. Some health experts warned that these measures could negatively affect access to essential health services, such as routine childhood immunizations. Others noted that without these regulations, COVID-19 cases would increase, leading to overburdened health systems. Methods: We analyze four years (2018–2021) of monthly administrative data on childhood immunizations in all administrative districts in Ghana and exploit variations in social distancing regulations across districts. Given variations in social distancing regulations across Ghanaian districts, we can further differentiate between the effect of public lockdowns and the effect of the pandemic. Results: We find that child immunizations in Ghana declined by 6% during the public lockdown in April 2020, but the country compensated with higher vaccination rates starting in June, and immunization services recovered to pre-pandemic growth levels by 2021. Time-critical vaccines, such as polio, were not affected at all. We do find a substantially larger disruption in April 2020 (14%) and a slower recovery in 2020 in the 40 lockdown-affected districts. Interestingly, vaccination rates already decreased in February and March by about 5% before the public lockdown and before the pandemic had reached Ghana, but with the pandemic already spreading globally and in the news. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the negative effect on child immunization was less severe and shorter than predicted by experts. Fear of COVID-19 and delayed vaccination campaigns had a substantial impact on childhood immunization while rising COVID-19 cases and moderate social distancing regulations did not seem to affect immunization rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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48. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on food availability and affordability: an interrupted time series analysis in Ghana.
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Kawakatsu, Yoshito, Damptey, Ohene, Sitor, John, Situma, Ruth, Aballo, Jevaise, Shetye, Mrunal, and Aiga, Hirotsugu
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TIME series analysis ,COVID-19 pandemic ,FOOD prices ,RETAIL industry ,PRICES - Abstract
Background: In Africa, approx. 675 million people were at risk of food insecurity. COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have exacerbated this situation, by damaging populations' access to and affordability of foods. This study is aimed at estimating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on availability and prices of essential food commodities at 20 large markets in Ghana. Methods: Data on food availability and food retail prices collected through weekly market-level data during the period from July 2017 to September 2020 were used in this study. We performed interrupted time-series analyses and estimated the percentage increases between the observed and predicted food prices by food group and by region to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on food prices. Results: As a result, the impact of COVID-19 on food availability was limited. However, the results of interrupted time-series analyses indicate a significant increase in overall mean food prices in Greater Accra, Eastern and Upper East regions. It was also found that mean price of starchy roots, tubers and plantains significantly increased across regions. Discussion: The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on food availability and prices was significant but varied by food type and regions in Ghana. Continuous monitoring and responses are critical to maintain food availability and affordability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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49. "Provide our basic needs or we go out": the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, inequality, and social policy in Ghana.
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Foli, Rosina K. and Ohemeng, Frank L. K.
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COVID-19 pandemic ,SOCIAL policy ,SOCIAL networks ,BASIC needs ,COVID-19 - Abstract
The effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic cuts across every facet of a nation's life. The near collapse of economies with the attendant job losses has brought forth the need for effective social policies, particularly in developing countries, that can serve citizens in dire need. Consequently, many of these countries have had to craft emergency social policies to help their citizens. Ghana is no exception. While measures to control the spread of the pandemic, such as lockdowns and restrictions on movement and gathering, were timely, they negatively impacted the poor, most of whom work in the informal sector and depend on daily survival activities such as buying and selling basic goods. As a result, some of the measures were ignored as people feared they would die from hunger rather than from the pandemic. Thus, governmental response to the pandemic was highlighted by policy layering and exposed the fragile social support systems in existence. The challenges of responding adequately to the pandemic underscore the importance of a transformative social welfare regime in ensuring the protection of citizens. This paper, based on desk research, explores the limitations of the existing social policy framework, which became manifest during the implementation of Ghana's pandemic policies. Policy layering by government continues to weaken Ghana's social welfare system, and this affected the official response with respect to the social issues that have emerged due to the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2022
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50. Bat species assemblage predicts coronavirus prevalence.
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Meyer, Magdalena, Melville, Dominik W., Baldwin, Heather J., Wilhelm, Kerstin, Nkrumah, Evans Ewald, Badu, Ebenezer K., Oppong, Samuel Kingsley, Schwensow, Nina, Stow, Adam, Vallo, Peter, Corman, Victor M., Tschapka, Marco, Drosten, Christian, and Sommer, Simone
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CORONAVIRUSES ,COVID-19 pandemic ,SPECIES ,COVID-19 ,BIODIVERSITY conservation ,BATS - Abstract
Anthropogenic disturbances and the subsequent loss of biodiversity are altering species abundances and communities. Since species vary in their pathogen competence, spatio-temporal changes in host assemblages may lead to changes in disease dynamics. We explore how longitudinal changes in bat species assemblages affect the disease dynamics of coronaviruses (CoVs) in more than 2300 cave-dwelling bats captured over two years from five caves in Ghana. This reveals uneven CoV infection patterns between closely related species, with the alpha-CoV 229E-like and SARS-related beta-CoV 2b emerging as multi-host pathogens. Prevalence and infection likelihood for both phylogenetically distinct CoVs is influenced by the abundance of competent species and naïve subadults. Broadly, bat species vary in CoV competence, and highly competent species are more common in less diverse communities, leading to increased CoV prevalence in less diverse bat assemblages. In line with the One Health framework, our work supports the notion that biodiversity conservation may be the most proactive measure to prevent the spread of pathogens with zoonotic potential. Human encroachment into nature alters species communities and can lead to changes in disease dynamics. Here, Meyer et al. find that coronavirus prevalence increased in less diverse bat communities, which were dominated by susceptible host species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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