COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance and Its Associated Factors: Insights from Rural and Urban Settlements in the Yilo Krobo Municipality in Ghana

The introduction of COVID-19 vaccines is viewed by many as an important milestone in controlling the spread of COVID-19 and a critical step toward attaining the required threshold for head immunity. However, accepting a vaccine is key to a successful rollout of any vaccination programme. Using the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) framework on vaccine acceptance and hesitancy as an analytical framework, this study examines COVID-19 vaccination acceptance and its associated factors in rural and urban settlements in the Yilo Krobo Municipality in Ghana. Data for the study were drawn from a cross-sectional survey conducted in an urban and three rural settlements in the Yilo Krobo Municipality. The findings showed that about 97% of residents were aware of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout exercise in the country; however, only 46% were willing to take the vaccine. The results from the binary logistic regression show that the sex of respondents (p<0.01), safety considerations (p<0.001), level of information on the vaccine (p<0.05), and perceived risk concerns (p<0.01) were the key factors that significantly influenced vaccine acceptance in the municipality. The study recommends more public education and sensitization to reduce misconceptions and increase trust in the vaccine rollout exercise

Career aspirations and influencing factors among male and female students studying Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects in Ghana

This paper examines the career aspirations of male and female students studying Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects at the tertiary level in Ghana and the motivating factors for these aspirations. The study objectives were addressed using data gathered from a survey, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. Chi-square test and binary logistic regression were used in analysing the quantitative data, while the qualitative data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The results show that there is no significant difference in the career aspirations of male and female students. However, we established that there are differences in the factors that influence career choices of male and female students. While economic consideration was a significant factor for males’ interest in pursuing a career in STEM, females were influenced by external motivation factors such as encouragement and motivation from role models. The authors recommend both formal and informal science-related mentorship programmes and internships as measures that could encourage females to actualise their career aspirations in STEM since it is an essential way of empowering them and building their capacities for national development

‘Everybody is Taking Their Security in Their Own Hands’: Exploring Everyday Urban Safety Perceptions and Realities in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana

There are concerns that responses to urban safety are gradually reinforcing socio-spatial inequalities, with suggestions emphasising community-institutional collaborations for promoting safer urban communities. Yet, the quotidian realities that underpin residents’ lived experiences are scantly used in urban safety strategies, despite that official crime data are often unavailable and outdated for many urban communities of the global south. Based on in-depth interviews with residents and officials in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, this paper explores residents’ everyday urban safety perceptions and responses to unravel their safety realities and to offer insights for building safer communities. Findings show that safety perceptions and responses permeate residents’ everyday urban life and are enmeshed within socio-economic inequalities and the ethos of city planning and security agencies. This paper argues that planning and other public authorities need a strategic shift that valorises the everyday as a crucial source of knowledge on the socio-economic and spatial conditions that undergird residents’ everyday experiences of safety and as a basis for collaborative safety strategies

Ghana digitised its address system: Its failure offers lessons to other African countries creating smart cities

Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Assessing differential socio-demographic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on urban livelihood capitals in suburban Accra, Ghana

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a debilitating socio-economic impact on livelihoods across the world. Extant studies show that livelihood capitals in developing countries have been hard hit due to their vulnerability and the minimal support system available to help people respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet the extent of the pandemic’s impact on livelihood capitals may not be the same for the various socio-demographic groups. Using quantitative techniques, this study examines the differential impact of the pandemic on the livelihood capitals of different socio-demographic groups in suburban Accra, Ghana. The study found significant differences in the pandemic’s impact on the livelihood capitals for various socio-demographic groups, such as gender, income, household sizes, and age groups. The findings show how framing the pandemic’s impacts through an urban livelihood capital-socio-demographic nexus lens enables a more complex, socially conscious, and locally placed understanding of the health risks. Furthermore, findings provide impetus for disaster interventions to transcend normative policies and practices that oversimplify disaster risks from a single vulnerability context and focus on at-risk groups.12 month embargo; first published 15 January 2024This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Planning for Informal Urban Green Spaces in African Cities: Children’s Perception and Use in Peri-Urban Areas of Luanda, Angola

Urbanization has placed considerable constraints on the preservation and maintenance of formal green spaces in African cities. This situation has given attention to the potentials of informal green spaces (IGS). While studies on IGS in African cities is only emerging, scholarly and policy attention to children’s perceptions and use of IGS within Africa’s spatially expansive urbanism is limited. This study explores children’s perceptions, use, barriers, willingness, and suggestions for improving IGS in the peri-urban area of Funda in Luanda. Based on semi-structured interviews and focused-group discussions, the study revealed that, while IGS offered different ecosystem services, not all IGS were accessible to children, due to safety concerns, maintenance conditions, and parental restrictions. Children’s interest in maintenance activities and suggestions for improving IGS reflected their independent identities, sense of place, and cognitive capacity to contribute to planning their community. The paper submits that the potential role of IGS in Africa’s peri-urban areas can be improved by taking into account children’s agency and experiential knowledge of community spaces. For this reason, there is a need to recognize and engage children as co-producers of community knowledge and interventions

Walking cities that are (un)walkable: exploring everyday lived realities in low-income neighbourhoods in Accra

The urban majority in Africa do a great deal of walking, yet we do not fully understand the lived realities of the so-called captive walkers, who have no option but to walk. This study explores the everyday lived accounts of urban residents as they navigate the walking environment in two low-income neighbourhoods in Accra, Ghana’s capital. The study adopted a qualitative approach drawing on 2 focus group discussions, 60 interviews with residents in the Dome and Accra Newtown neighbourhoods in Accra, and 10 institutional interviews. The findings show that residents viewed walking as a means of enhancing social relations, health, and spatial awareness. Lived accounts show that walking is stressful and dangerous because of the design and behavioral barriers in the walking environment. While highlighting the value of community-level responses to walking barriers, this paper calls for a more nuanced understanding of the everyday lived experiences of walking, reconsidering walkability challenges as intricately linked to, not separate from, urban development challenges and engaging captive walker perspectives as the basis for driving equitable and inclusive principles in the agenda for sustainable urban mobilities in Africa and Global South generally

Digitalisation for whom: The determinants of residents' use of the digital property address system in Accra, Ghana

Purpose There is an emerging digital turn in urban management in Africa, undergirded by efforts to address the challenges of rapid urbanisation. To ensure that this digitalisation agenda contributes to smart and sustainable communities, there is a need to trace residents' use of emerging digital technologies and address any impediments to broader utilisation. To this end, this paper aims to examine the determinants of residents' use of Ghana's digital property address system (DPAS) in suburban communities in Accra. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a detailed literature review of digital technologies and the factors that affect their use, this paper uses data from a cross-sectional survey of three suburban communities in Accra. A binary logistic regression model was then utilised to identify the significant factors that affect residents' use of the DPAS. Findings The findings showed that socioeconomic, housing, and psychosocial factors were the main determinants of residents' use of the DPAS. Specifically, house ownership, education and expected benefits had a positive relationship with residents' use of the DPAS. Findings highlight the need for urban policymakers to pay attention to systemic issues in Ghana's digital culture to ensure that digitalisation initiatives do not widen the digital divide and thus impede progress towards smart and sustainable urban development goals. Originality/value The growing scholarship on digitalisation in Africa has emphasised conditions, potentials and challenges in deploying digital technologies with little attention to the determinants of residents' use of these technologies. This paper contributes to filling this knowledge gap by bringing foundational issues critical to engendering equitable digitalisation agenda in Ghanaian cities and beyond.Immediate accessThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

A digital turn for urban management? Residents' perception and utilisation of the digital property address system in Accra, Ghana

Rapid urbanisation and its associated challenges in Global South countries have necessitated the use of digital technologies in urban management. Key to their successful utilisation for urban management is residents' perceptions and utilisation of these technologies. Yet, little attention has been given to this area of research. Using data gathered from a cross-sectional survey in three suburban communities, the study examined residents' perceptions and utilisation of the digital property address system (DPAS) in Accra, Ghana. The findings revealed that residents understand the benefits of the DPAS. However, residents’ perceived benefits, usage and challenges varied by socio-demographic groups. More importantly, the findings revealed that the use of the DPAS is beset with operational difficulties and non-use by government agencies. To ensure that digital technologies such as the DPAS provide opportunities for sustainable, inclusive, and resilient development trajectories in Ghana and Africa, it is imperative that residents' use and challenges of such technologies inform improvements in their design and implementation