Migration In Ghana Research Articles

Internal migration and multidimensional wellbeing: a case study of North-South migration in Ghana

Abstract Migration is widely regarded as a principal form of activity available to many of the world’s poor to improve their household’s standard of living. This paper investigates whether and in what ways internal migrants benefit from moving within Ghana’s North-South migration context. This research uses an innovative multidimensional wellbeing framework to assess the effects of migration on migrants’ wellbeing based on six domains: living standards, health, education, community vitality, environmental resilience, and governance. The wellbeing survey of 251 northern Ghanaian migrants working in the informal economic sector within the Sunyani municipality discovered that although most migrants reported improved living standards, a majority could not attain overall wellbeing due to low health and education wellbeing scores. Exploring the relationship between income and wellbeing across domains, the study found a weak positive association, and the complex interplay of factors beyond income was evident. This study challenges the conventional perspective that equates income with the attainment of wellbeing and argues that a multidimensional wellbeing framework permits a more nuanced understanding of the impacts of migration. It highlights the need for the government to actively monitor and address the wellbeing of internal migrants within the Ghanaian context.

Mapping socio-environmental vulnerability to assess rural migration in Ghana

Rural communities in Ghana, dependent on agriculture and lacking resources and infrastructure, are highly vulnerable to climate and environmental change. Internal migration is often considered as a strategy to mitigate local livelihood constraints. Understanding the challenges of rural communities requires knowledge of local conditions. As only few studies have mapped vulnerable areas in the context of migration in Ghana at a spatially explicit and nationwide level, this study provides a geodata-based examination of how rural areas in Ghana are vulnerable to multiple, co-occurring socio-economic and environmental factors influencing migration. A multifactorial and expert-based weighted overlay analysis was applied, integrating diverse data sources including climate, remote sensing, and recent census data from Ghana. Bivariate maps visualize vulnerable areas where a high impact of the factors coincides with a high rural population density. High levels of factor impact are observed in the northern regions and coastal areas of Ghana. Relatively low impact is found in more central parts of the country. The results align with current net migration rates, confirming the applicability of our method for assessing rural internal migration. This method enhances the understanding of migration dynamics in Ghana and emphasizes the role of spatial data in migration studies.

“The cake is in Accra”: a case study on internal migration in Ghana

ABSTRACT What are the motivations for internal migration, and how do social relations influence the migration process? In answering these questions, this paper focuses on internal migration to Accra, the capital of Ghana. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 migrants in different areas of the city and analysed using narrative analysis. We found that livelihood and lifestyle dimensions work in tandem as motivations for migration. While the main reasons for moving to Accra, according to the interviewees, are related to livelihood, they are reflected and performed in culturally bound lifestyles. Furthermore, while social relations are rarely the main motivator to migrate, the social networks of migrants constitute an important enabling (or disabling) factor in shaping both livelihood and lifestyle dimensions of the migration process. Finally, we found that different ties – including emotional and economic – have different meanings across the migrants’ social network throughout the migration process.

Limit(ation)s, sustainability, and the future of climate migration

Climate change and human migration are two of the world's most pressing issues, as many populations rely on migration as an adaptation strategy to climatic stressors. Human experiences of, and responses to, climate stress are uneven and mediated by resource privilege. In many communities in the Global South, climate vulnerabilities are exacerbated by fragile ecological conditions due to geographical positioning, and many already marginalised groups shoulder a disproportionate burden of climate change effects, despite contributing the least to this problem. In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, rapidly deteriorating climatic conditions imply that climate vulnerabilities may be reproduced in migration destination areas as well. Drawing on primary research conducted in Ghana, we illustrate how migration may present limitations and thus serve as an unsustainable adaptation strategy towards climate change for agrarian and structurally marginalised groups. We highlight the need for more discussions of sustainability in issues of climate migration in Ghana and similar contexts of the Global South, and the urgency of mitigating climate change globally. We conclude with calls for more nuanced understandings of the futures of climate migration as an adaptive strategy.

Colonial Labor Policy and North–South Migration in Ghana

Abstract Although European contact with Ghana dates back to the second half of the fifteenth century (1471), it was in the closing decades of the nineteenth century that the northern part of the country had its first European visitor. This was M. J. Bonnat, a French trader, in 1876. Until then, much of European activity was limited to the southern part of the country. As the next century began following this historic visit, the present geographical location of modern Ghana was formerly declared and recognized as a British colony (January 1, 1902). Unlike the South of the Gold Coast, the North was not seen to have any natural resources to bolster the colonial economy. For the entire colonial period, therefore, the most significant benefit to be derived from the North by the colonial government was human labor. This had serious implications for north–south migration in the country. It necessitated the movement of people southwards to satisfy colonial labor needs. The early decades of the twentieth century marked a system of forced migration of only males from the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast to the south (from about 1906 to 1927). Segregation of families, exposure to the vagaries of the weather, disease and death were some of the immediate consequences resulting from the forced migration. For the rest of the colonial period, migration southwards became increasingly voluntary and women were gradually drawn into the migration process. To what extent has this early form of migration affected contemporary outmigration patterns and development in Northern Ghana? This article examines the dynamics that were involved in the forced labor recruitment and the impact arising out of this.

A West African Spider-Man and the Enduring Concept of “the Stranger”

A West African Spider-Man and the Enduring Concept of “the Stranger”

Is Migration in Africa always a Household Decision? Consensus and Contestation in the Rural–Urban Migration Decisions of Ghanaian Women

The dominant theoretical framework for analyzing migration in Africa rests on the assumption of cooperative intrahousehold decision making regarding the mobility of household members. This framework, applied to women’s migration, overlooks the varied decision-making processes underlying their mobility, and obscures their ability to act as purposeful agents in making decisions about migration. Drawing on a study of women’s rural–urban migration in Ghana, this article argues that women’s migration decisions exist on a continuum defined by the presence or absence of intrahousehold contestation and the degree of agency exercised by the migrants themselves. Consequently, household models of migration may not always be the appropriate theoretical framework for the analysis of women’s migration in this context. The findings presented have implications for economic analyses of women’s migration and remittances, for our understanding of migrant women’s capacity for agency, and for the design of effective policies to improve migration outcomes for women. HIGHLIGHTS The study directly elicits information from women about their migration decisions. Women’s migration is the outcome of complex decision-making processes. The dichotomy between household and individual models of migration ignores these complexities.

“I Have to Further My Studies Abroad”: Student Migration in Ghana

The literature on migration intentions of university students and their decisions to travel abroad as student migrants is limited. This article outlines how the thought of student migration is created and nurtured. It investigates how facilitators and/or constraints influence the decision to migrate as students. Using a multi-sited approach, fieldwork in Ghana focused on prospective student migrants, while fieldwork in the Netherlands provided a retrospective perspective among student migrants. Life story interviews were adopted in the collection of data. In the minds of the respondents, there is a clear distinction between the idea of ‘migration’ and the idea of ‘student migration.’ The article concludes that childhood socialization shapes the idea of ‘migration’ that culminates in the thought of ‘student migration.’ Apart from studies, experiencing new cultures and networking are among the notableexpectations that inform the thought of studentmigration. Religiosity categorised as prayers and belonging to religious community is a cultural principle employed to facilitate the fulfilment of student migration intentions. With a shift from the classical economic models of understanding the decision to migrate, this article elucidates the fears, anxiety, joys and perplexities that are embedded in the thought of student migration.

Self-Directed Female Migration in Ghana: Health and Wellness of Elderly Family Caregivers Left Behind. An Ethnographic Study.

Driven by the global economic crisis, families are developing strategies for survival, including self-directed female migration. Female migration has negative and positive impacts on families in rural areas. The purpose of the project was to explore the health and wellness experiences of elderly family caregivers who have female family members who have migrated to improve the status of their families. In this focused ethnographic study, we interviewed elderly family members who had a female family member who migrated outside their community for employment. Participants were enrolled from northern Ghanaian communities known to be economically disadvantaged in comparison to their southern counterparts. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and translated into English. Data were analyzed based on thematic content. Majors themes that emerged were reasons for children leaving their families; physical, emotional, and spiritual health; and social and economic struggles. Challenges of family care work undertaken by the elderly in families with emigrated female kin strongly also emerged as a theme. New contextual knowledge was developed about the impact of self-directed female migration on the health and wellness of elderly family caregivers. The information is valuable for the development of culturally appropriate social support and health practices for female migrants and their families.

The Migration Experience and Differential Risks to Sexual and Reproductive Health in Ghana.

Background. Though internal migration in Ghana has become increasingly common in recent years, research has not focused on the gendered experiences and perceptions of migration and the association with sexual and reproductive health risks for male and female migrants. Method. A qualitative study using semistructured interviews among migrant market workers and market leaders working in Agbogbloshie in Accra, Ghana, was completed in April 2018. Interview domains for the migrant interviews included the following: expectations of migration, current working and living conditions, sexual and reproductive health, access to health care, and self-reported health status. Qualitative data were analyzed using a combination of inductive and deductive coding in MAXQDA. Results. Data indicate that migrant workers have a variety of perceptions surrounding their migration experience. In the urban destination, migrants face a number of challenges that negatively affect their health, including poor accommodation, safety concerns, and low levels of social support. Reported risks to sexual and reproductive health were unsafe sexual encounters, such as low condom use and sexual assault. Discussion. The negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes among migrant populations in urban poor settings are a result of a confluence of factors, including perceptions of destination locations, working and living conditions, social support, and gender norms. A complex systems approach to understanding the sexual health of migrants is warranted. Conclusion. Findings from this research illustrate the complexity of health risks among migrants in Agbogbloshie. Further research is needed to explore the increased vulnerability of migrants compared with nonmigrants in urban poverty and the long-term implications of sexual and reproductive health risks in vulnerable migrant communities.

The Role of the Labour Department in International Labour Migrant Management in Ghana

International migration is the major integral part of international economic relations and significant component of the globalized world. Its issues cannot be comprehended without considering levels of policy at national, regional and global forums have attracted high levels of policy consideration at national, regional and global forums. It linkages the development in countries and migrant workers in terms of an emerging international consensus on the positive aspects of labour migration cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, the study sought to examines how the labour department manages international labour migration in Ghana. The snowball, stratified sampling techniques and in-depth interviews were used for data collection. The study showed that in spite of the absence of national migration policy, the labour department has been mandated with registration, licensing and monitoring of private employment agencies in the country. The study showed major challenge of labour department raising security deposits of GH₵ 25,000 as the registration requirement. The study also discusses the institutional collaboration that exists between the labour department and other state and international organizations as well as private entities in respect of labour migration in the country. The study concluded that the level of collaboration between the labour department and other institutions including state and international organization in respect of international labour migration management can be explained within the context of the migration systems theory.

Social Networks and the Geographies of Young People’s Migration: Evidence from Independent Child Migration in Ghana

Social networks play an important role in shaping major aspects of migratory decisions and outcomes. Adopting an approach, which focused on both before and after stages of migration, this paper examines the value of social networks to the migration of young people by drawing on the experiences of independent child migrants in Ghana. In this paper, we argue that, prior to migration, social networks significantly shape children’s migration trajectories largely through information dissemination on potential destinations and therefore may partly explain the clustering of migrants in certain urban spaces. Besides, through provision of financial resources, such networks account for who migrates and stays put. After migration, social networks by serving as a channel of information flows, enhancing access to jobs and providing informal insurance cover shape major outcomes of young people’s migration. Successful socioeconomic integration of young migrants is a product of membership of village associations. However, social networks do not always engender positive livelihood outcomes due mainly to composition and reciprocity characterising interactions among network actors.

Labour Intensive Public Work (LIPW) programme and youth migration in Ghana : a study of Daffiama Bussie Issah district

Labour Intensive Public Work (LIPW) programme and youth migration in Ghana : a study of Daffiama Bussie Issah district

Migration as a Livelihood Strategy: The Case of Internal Migration in Ghana

Many households in Ghana experience high poverty levels and unreliable sources of income. As a strategy to reduce poverty level in Ghana, there are various decisions by individuals within the household to either migrate internally or engage in other activities that generate income. This study examines the use of internal migration as a livelihood strategy in Ghana using descriptive statistics and logit regression with data from the 2012/2013 Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS 6). In relation to most previous empirical studies, this study provides results consistent with the economic reasons for migration in Ghana. The probit regression estimates and the use of descriptive statistics support the diversification framework of livelihoods–where some internal migrants in Ghana take up multiple jobs as a means of obtaining multiple incomes. According to the findings, most migrants end up in the private informal sector at their destination places. Finally, in terms of regional distribution of internal migrants, households from the three northern regions are more likely to migrate. It is recommended that development policies of the government should be evenly distributed to ensure national development, irrespective of where one finds one’s self. Education should also be promoted to ensure that migrants have some form of learning in order to obtain employment in either the semi-formal or formal sector which requires a high level of skills.

Ambiguity and Symbolism in the Implementation of the ECOWAS Free Movement Protocol: Evidence from Ghana and Sierra Leone

This paper examines the challenges to the implementation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocol on Free Movement, with particular reference to Ghana and Sierra Leone. The paper is based on a desktop review and in-depth interviews with selected ECOWAS migrants and officials of institutions responsible for managing migration in Ghana and Sierra Leone. The findings suggest that Ghana and Sierra Leone have made modest progress in the implementation of the protocol. Apart from abolishing visa and entry requirements for 90 days, both countries have adopted the standardized ECOWAS Travel Certificate. Despite a few achievements, the following challenges affect the implementation of the free movement protocol in both countries: Policy ambiguities resulting from contradictions between national laws on employment and the ECOWAS Free Movement Protocol; harassment of migrants; migrants lack of travel documents; low level of knowledge about the ECOWAS protocol; resource constraints; fears of competition with immigrants, especially in Ghana; securitization of migration and migrants; weak labour market and migration information systems, economic challenges and political instability. This paper concludes that the future implementation outcomes of the ECOWAS protocol largely depend on the commitment of the member states and financial support that they receive from ECOWAS and its development partners.

Contemporary female migration in Ghana: Analyses of the 2000 and 2010 Censuses

BACKGROUND Knowledge of female migration patterns is scant despite increased recognition and reporting of the feminization of migration. Recent data on female internal migration in Ghana challenge historical assumptions that underestimated female migration. OBJECTIVE This study presents the first detailed comparative analyses of female migration using microdata from Ghana’s censuses (2000-2010) and exploits these national data to understand gendered dimensions of migration in Ghana. METHODS Secondary analyses use direct and indirect methods to describe the scale, type, and demographic structure of contemporary female migration; assess the distribution of female migrants across age and geography; and estimate net internal female migration. RESULTS Approximately 40-50% of internal migrants captured by the census are excluded from other national migration data sources. Excluding international migrants, census microdata identify 31.1% of females and 30.4% of males as internal migrants in 2000. By 2010, the proportion of internal migrants had risen to 37.4% of females and 35.7% of males. Working-age migration is particularly pronounced in 2010, reinforcing economic opportunity as a likely driver of migration for both sexes. Female migrants are significantly more likely than female non-migrants to reside in urban areas and work for pay, profit, or family gain. CONTRIBUTION Our analyses expand the evidence base on contemporary female migration and refute the out-dated stereotype that girls and women do not participate in migration. Productive female labour losses may negatively impact development efforts and local economies in Ghana’s rural regions, requiring interventions to reduce poverty and develop greater economic opportunities for rural girls and women.

Acculturation and integration: Language dynamics in the rural north-urban south mobility situation in Ghana

This paper examines the role acculturation plays in the acquisition of Akan as L2 among young female migrants of northern Ghana origin (Kayayei), in their host communities in the south. While the literature is replete with studies on the migration of Kayayei to urban markets in the south, many of these studies are concerned with either sociological factors or economic ones or even health. Very little research has focused on the linguistic dimension of rural-urban migration in Ghana. Under the basic assumptions of Schumann’s Acculturation Model, a socio-psychological model of L2 learning, this paper employs mixed methods (structured interviews, participant observation) to investigate Akan as L2 acquisition among Kayayei in three highly multilingual urban markets in Ghana. The analysis of the data revealed that whereas social dominance patterns do not seem to aff ect acculturation among Kayayei in Akan acquisition and use in the selected urban markets, other social and psychological factors, e.g. size of immigrant group, residence, and length of period of stay/hope of return to home origin which tend to result in limited/full integration, do. The fi ndings of this paper resonate with Hammer’s (2017) fi nding about the relationship between sociocultural integration of migrants and the extent of their use of L2, i.e., that L2 learners with higher levels of acculturation tend to have higher levels of profi ciency in the L2.

Migration as an Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change: Influencing Factors in North-western Ghana

Climate change has attracted the attention of all stakeholders, ranging from individuals in the household through to global organisations in the international community. As an inevitable phenomenon at the moment, adaptation is the key response to minimising the unfavourable effects of climate change. While there are several adaptation strategies, rural areas mostly use migration as an ultimate and most reliable option. Rural migration in Ghana is mostly from the north to the south. This paper examines the factors that influence individuals and households’ decision to use migration as an adaptation strategy to climate change effects in North-western Ghana. Data was collected using household questionnaire in four communities and analysed using statistical package for social science, version 20.0. The study established that although there are other reasons for migration, it is used essentially as an adaptation strategy to the effects of climate change on livelihood. The study concludes that the debate on climate change and migration should no longer be whether climate change causes human migration but how the effects of climate change influence migrants’ resolve to migrate as an adaptation strategy. Such an analysis allows policy makers to find practical adaptive capacity measures that can offset the challenges at the original homes of migrants.

North-South Migration and Problems of Migrant Traders in Agbogbloshie

In this paper, the problems of labour migrants in their destination areas will be investigated, owing to the need for a deeper understanding of their specific livelihood problems in these areas. Using a mixed method approach to data collection, 100 migrant traders in Agbogbloshie, in the south industrial area of Accra, were interviewed about their livelihood problems. The data analysed revealed that the majority of labour migrants were not formally educated and were primarily involved in the trading of consumables. Additionally, conflict, poverty, decline in agriculture productivity and unavailability of social amenities were important factors that influenced their north-south migration in Ghana. Furthermore, inability to access credit facilities, theft of migrant traders’ wares, discrimination against migrants, exploitation of migrants by market leaders and harassment by city authorities were some of the problems that migrant traders faced. Dependent on these findings, to effectively minimise these problems, it is suggested that migrant traders should unionise as this can help them access credit from formal financial institutions. It would also present migrants with a common voice to engage in dialogue with city authorities on the appropriate ways of managing their activities in the market.

Internal Migration Determinants: Evidence from Northern Region of Ghana

Studies of migration in Ghana – exploring the determinants is not new and date back to the 1960s. However, recent empirical evidence has focused on analysing the determinants of international migration. The study of internal migration have been somewhat neglected when in fact, it constitutes a very important policy area. Apart from the existence of very few empirical studies exploring the determinants of migration using econometric approach, results from such studies give mixed findings. The current study adds to the Ghanaian literature by offering a novel empirical assessment of the socio-economic characteristics of Ghanaian migrants and the determinants of internal migration using a recently collected data by the Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana, Legon for analysis. The main reason cited for migrating from the Northern region is economic. Using probit regression, it was noted that migrants are more likely to come from households with male heads. Furthermore, access to community facilities (electricity, pipe-born water) reduces the likelihood of households producing migrants. Migrant networks were also found to be a key facilitating element in the migration of people from the study area. In light of this, one can therefore conclude that the network theory explains migration in the Northern Region.