West Region Research Articles

Supply-side factors influencing national health insurance uptake, access and use of primary health care: Evidence from the Upper West Region, Ghana

Supply-side factors, such as the availability of health facilities, equipment, practitioners, and drugs, are crucial for improving global healthcare systems. However, systematic evidence of how these factors affect health insurance clients’ access to primary healthcare (PHC) services in Ghana is lacking. This study addresses this gap by examining the impact of these factors on insured individuals' access to PHC services in Wa Municipality. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was employed, involving a quantitative survey of 413 insured individuals randomly selected from 40 communities and 47 healthcare facilities. Purposive sampling was used for qualitative interviews with 17 healthcare providers and 20 key insured informants. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation, independent t-tests, and binary logistic regression, while qualitative data were thematically analysed to provide insight into the quantitative findings. Result from quantitative data showed that Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) were more accessible than hospitals, diagnostic centres, and health centres. Proximity to health facilities influenced access to PHC services and National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) uptake. Perceived availability and functionality of healthcare equipment also affected NHIS uptake. Qualitatively, health facilities reported a shortage of human resources, such as midwives and nurses, for PHC service delivery. Triangulating quantitative and qualitative results show that healthcare supplies and skilled professionals are essential for NHIS uptake and access to PHC services. This study recommends that Government of Ghana prioritise expanding healthcare facilities, recruiting and retaining skilled practitioners, procuring medical equipment, and equitably distributing essential medications to improve access to essential healthcare services in underserved areas.

Effect of Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship Training on Entrepreneurship Intentions of People Living with Disabilities in Nigeria

People living with disabilities (PLWDs) are considered the most vulnerable segment of the population, and in most societies or countries neglected especially with respect access to education, health care, infrastructures, economic, social and political participation; thereby pushing them in to begging and other non-productive activities. Thus, there is strong need to pay attention to these categories of people in order to make them self-reliant, and engage them in to different forms of entrepreneurship activities. Therefore, the aims to examine the influence of financial literacy and entrepreneurship training on entrepreneurship intentions of PLWDs in Nigeria. Using a descriptive survey research, the population comprises all the PLWDs in the North West region of Nigeria, out of which a sample of 210 were conveniently surveyed using questionnaire. With the help of SPSS, the data collected was analysed using descriptive, correlation, and regression. The results revealed that entrepreneurship training was significant on entrepreneurship intention of the PLWDs, while financial literacy was not significant on entrepreneurship intentions. The study concludes that, while financial literacy does not determine entrepreneurship intention of the PLWDs, entrepreneurship training does. Hence, the research recommends that, emphasis be placed on different forms of entrepreneurship trainings in order to encourage the PLWDs to embrace entrepreneurial activities, while less attention be given to financial literacy as it has only little impact. However, the research further emphasized that PLWDs be integrated in to not only theoretical aspect of entrepreneurship, but also be encourage to acquire some forms of skills that translate in to real entrepreneurial ventures.

Western disturbances: Occurrence and impact on wheat productivity in Punjab

Western disturbances (WD) bring moderate to heavy rain in the northern parts of the country as well as heavy snow to the mountain areas of the Indian subcontinent. It is the source of most of the winter and post-monsoon rainfall in northwest India. Spatio-temporal analysis of western disturbances was carried out by using weather data recorded at Ballowal Saunkhri (sub-mountainous region), Ludhiana (central plain region) and Bathinda (south west region). The WD events per month were lowest in November and highest in March month averaged over all the agroclimatic regions. The highest numbers of WD events were found during February month in the Sub-mountainous region and during March in central plain region and south-western region. Winter rainfall quantity and number of rainfall events were higher in the sub-mountainous region followed by the central plain region and lowest in the south-western region. Higher number of WD during wheat growing season along with less and well distributed rainfall resulting in lower maximum temperature conditions were conducive for higher productivity in Punjab. The significantly positive correlation was observed between the number of western disturbances and wheat productivity during April month at central plain region and southwest region, whereas, the seasonal total number of WDs showed significant positive relationship at submontane region and southwest region.

Health care policy and arthroscopic rotator cuff repair prices in the United States

BackgroundArthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) is one of the most common orthopedic procedures in the general population. Despite its prevalence, the price of ARCR varies significantly across regions, hospital models, and settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of Geographic Region, Certificate of Need (CON) laws, and Medicaid expansion on ARCR pricing. MethodsThis cross-sectional observational study utilized hospital payer-specific ARCR prices from the Turquoise Health Database using CPT code 29827. These prices are negotiated rates or charges that hospitals establish with various payers, including insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid, and self-pay patients, for medical services and treatments provided. Outliers below the 10th percentile and above the 90th percentile were excluded. State policies, including CON status and Medicaid expansion, were obtained from public sources, while additional socioeconomic and demographic data were sourced from the US Census. The state's region classification was determined based on one of four Geographic Regions defined by the US Census Bureau. A detailed analysis was also conducted for North Carolina, examining county-level data on urbanization and the Area Deprivation Index (ADI). ResultsThere were 57,270 ARCR prices from 2,503 hospitals across the United States, with a median interquartile range (IQR) listed price of $6,428.17 (IQR: $2,886.88). States with CON regulations had significantly lower ARCR prices compared to those without ($6,500 vs. $8,000, p<0.0001). Multivariable analysis indicated that hospitals in the Northeast and West Regions listed significantly higher prices for ARCR compared to those in the Midwest Region (p<0.0001). In contrast, hospitals in the South Region listed lower prices for ARCR compared to those in the Midwest Region (p<0.0001). Medicaid expansion was associated with increased ARCR prices (p<0.0001), while CON laws were linked to reduced prices (p< .0001). In North Carolina, ADI and urbanization status did not significantly affect ARCR prices. ConclusionThe prices listed for ARCR varied significantly depending on the Geographic Region where hospitals were located. Additionally, CON laws were associated with reduced ARCR prices, while Medicaid expansion correlated with increased prices. These findings highlight the complex interplay between healthcare policy, regulatory frameworks, and socioeconomic factors in determining surgical prices.

New evidence on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights from the West and Central African region.

The African Journal of Reproductive Health is pleased to publish these compendiums of original research in this special edition that document new findings in adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights from the West and Central African region (WCA). While sub-Saharan Africa has some of the worst indicators of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in the world, the indicators are more daunting in the WCA region. To date, the WCA is recognized to have the highest rates of unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmissible infections, as well as the lowest contraceptive prevalence rates among adolescents worldwide.1 Despite the high rate of adverse adolescent reproductive health outcomes in WCA, there has been limited documentations of the socio-cultural and economic circumstances that perpetuate these adverse consequences. There have also been no purposefully designed interventions that provide strong scientific evidence for developing strategies to reverse the trend.

Gender and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights in West and Central Africa: New evidence and emerging gaps.

The West and Central Africa (WCA) region is a natural resource-rich, 24-country, contiguous area with a population of nearly 500 million people. The median age for the region is currently 18 years and approximately one-third of its population is aged between 10 and 24 years. If current demographic trends in the region persist, its population will reach 1.5 billion by 2050. At that time, WCA will not only have the largest number of young people globally, but it will also be the only part of the world whose population of young people will continue to increase1. Many countries in the region are also or have recently been involved in armed conflicts, which have devastated infrastructure, displaced people, stifled development, and more importantly, resulted in myriad deaths and morbidities.

Exploring impact of green finance and natural resources on eco-efficiency: case of China

China ranks 160 out of 180 countries in terms of ecological efficiency, with an EPI score of 28.40 and a 10-year average change in score of 11.40. This article examines the impact of green finance and China’s natural resources on regional ecological efficiency using the Tobit regression model. The study uses the average yearly exchange rate to normalize dollar-related values and GDP to 2012 RMB using the price deflator. Variables used as explanatory tools include green financing, the availability of natural resources, and regional eco-efficiency. The results of the study imply that natural resources in eastern region of China are better managed as and have avoided the resource curse as compared to central and western regions. Resources temporarily support area economic and social growth. However, resource agglomeration locks many elements in the resource industry and degrades regional industrial development, generating environmental and social difficulties that may hinder regional economic progress. Given that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increases regional eco-efficiency after accounting for adjustment. The FDI positively correlated with ecological efficiency in the east zone, while central and western zones have negative correlations. The industrial development of the nation negatively impacts ecological efficiency in the East, Midwest, and West regions. Western results are distinctive, with ecological efficiency and regional economic growth frequently going hand in hand.

Distribution of Rain Intensity: Daily Maximum Rainfall Data in The Province of South Sumatera and West Sumatera

The high intensity of rain in May 2024 caused flooding in the Sumatra region, especially Padang City and Palembang City. The region of West Sumatra is also known as the ethalae of disasters with frequent earthquakes, floods, and landslides. In Indonesia, many frequency analyses are conducted using the Gumbel distribution without testing data and clear hydrological reasons. It is feared that this method is considered as a routine way, thus causing the risk of unwanted deviations, resulting in many disasters and errors in the planning of water buildings. This research aims to determine and know the type of distribution that is representative for the maximum daily rainfall frequency in West Sumatra and South Sumatra Provinces as a reference for development and disaster mitigation in the region. The research location is in West Sumatra and South Sumatra. The data used for this study were taken from daily maximum rainfall data from rain stations for 35 to 40 years from 24 rain stations in West Sumatra Province, and 16 rain stations for South Sumatra region. This type of research is development research with the 4D development model (Define, Design, Develop, Disseminate). The development method consists of four different phases: Initial Investigation, Design, Realisation and Development. The data of each station was then organised into two types of data series, namely the annual maximum data series and the annual minimum data series. The results of this data series test are expected to follow one or more types of distributions commonly used in Hydrology and Drainage. The distribution results obtained for the South Sumatra region are Gama-III and LP-III, while for the West Sumatra region the distribution types are Gama-III, LP-III Normal Log and Gembel. The conclusion obtained is that West Sumatra does not have only one type of distribution. For the type of test using the SPSS.22 application, the results obtained are goodness of fit test, parametric test, Chi-Square test, Kolmogorov Smirnov test and Anderson-Darling test and Histrogram (visual) method.

Could ERA5 Deliver Better Climate Services Than ERA-Interim over the West African Sahel Region?

Could ERA5 Deliver Better Climate Services Than ERA-Interim over the West African Sahel Region?

The coordinated development of higher vocational education, scientific and technological innovation, and sustainable economic development: Spatial distribution, influencing factors and future prediction

High-quality development in China requires higher vocational education, scientific and technological innovation, and sustainable economic development. The spatial distribution patterns of these factors show higher levels in the east and coastal areas compared to the west and inland regions, emphasizing the need for coupling coordination with the social economy. This study examines the impact of sustainable economic development on the coupling coordination degree using the spatial Durbin model. The results show a positive promotion and spillover effect, with regional variations. The main factors affecting the difference in coupling coordination are the amount of technology market contracts, fiscal expenditure on science and technology, patent application authorizations, tertiary industry output value, and the number of R&amp;D institutions. According to the grey prediction model, the coupling coordination degree is expected to increase from 2022 to 2025, but achieving primary coordination may still be challenging in some areas. Therefore, strategies that utilize regional characteristics for coordinated development should be developed to improve the level of coupling coordination and create a mutually beneficial environment.

On the positive economic impacts of port infrastructure development and seaborne trade efficiencies in Sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Senegal

AbstractInefficient port infrastructures is one of the challenges facing Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly as regards the West African region’s economic progress. Using a dynamic computable general equilibrium model, the paper examines how improving port infrastructure in Senegal can increase the potential of seaborne trade, and accelerate economic and social development in the country and the wider region. Despite Senegal's strategic location along the Trans-Saharan trade route in West Africa, infrastructural limitations pose challenges to port capacity. Our findings suggest that improving port infrastructure can increase port productivity, leading to a reduction in costs of imported food products and domestic inputs. As a result, the country's competitiveness in international markets would be enhanced and could stimulate the production of cash crops, industrial food, and chemical products. This would lead to increased food supply and improved purchasing power, supporting the country's food security. Results show that increased efficiencies in maritime exports and imports lead to an overall increase in economic activity, resulting in significant GDP growth, improved welfare, and a reduction in poverty incidence. This growth can be attributed to higher exports and greater availability of imported intermediate inputs at lower prices, making exports more competitive in the global market as export prices decrease.

Spatial patterns and their influencing factors for China’s catering industry

The catering industry plays an essential role in providing life services. Understanding its spatial patterns offers insights into the economic, cultural and spiritual image of a society. Especially in urban settings, the catering industry is often considered a key element for improving the competitiveness of cities. With rapid urbanization and economic growth in China, the catering industry has become the main driving force to stimulate China’s service sectors. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive spatial analysis to explore the distribution patterns by calculating kernel density and applying the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model with 4.49 million restaurants across 336 cities in China in 2020. The restaurants were categorized into four types: Chinese restaurants (CRs), Western restaurants (WRs), fast-food restaurants (FFRs), and dessert and drink restaurants (DDRs). We incorporated a diverse set of socio-economic indicators to explore potential causal influences, including population size and density, GDP, etc. Our study revealed a gradual decrease in restaurant density from southeast to northwest China, with high density observed in the Pearl River Economic Delta, Yangtze River Economic Delta, Chongqing, and Chengdu regions. In terms of the potential influencing factors, we observed that in west and southwest regions, density appeared to be more affected by GDP per unit area, total tourism revenue, disposable income per capita of urban residents, and total retail sales of social consumption. While in northeast areas, restaurant density was more affected by total retail sales of social consumption, GDP per unit area, number of urban population, and the proportion of tertiary industry in GDP. These insights serve as a direct scientific foundation for informing the strategic planning of different types of restaurants at municipal, provincial, and regional levels.

Bride price payment and marriage Stability: An ethnographic study of the Brifors of the Upper West Region, Ghana

A bride price creates an unending bond for married couples in sub-Sahara Africa. This gesture is key within the Brifor cultural milieu in Ghana. This paper investigates the impact of bride price on marriage stability among the Brifor ethnic group. In-depth interviews were conducted with 45 Key Informants and seven defined groups. The results show that the cultural demands of high bride price payment among the Brifors stabilizes marriages, secures the entitlement right of the husband to the woman and children, but increases incidences of violence against women. From the results it is evident that apart from the high bride price payment contributing to marriage instability, there is also the indication that the abuse of the rights of wives depends largely on the character of the husbands, including the cultural mindset instilled in them through biological traits and/or family socialization in relation to their culture. The study concludes that although most participants felt that the practice of paying bride price should be reviewed, it was evident that the payment has become a double-edge sword confronting women in particular, relative to the stability or instability of marriages among the Brifors. Therefore, there is the need for traditional authority to reform the practice by reducing the bride price items and spacing out the payment period as a respite for husbands-to-be.

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF SUPERVISION AND MANAGEMENT TRAINING ON POLICE OFFICER PERFORMANCE AT NKURENKURU POLICE STATION

This research explores the impact of supervision and management training on the performance of police officers at Nkurenkuru Police Station, focusing on improving law enforcement effectiveness. Conducted in the Kavango West Region of Namibia, the study aims to understand how training programs influence personnel performance. Qualitative research methods were employed, using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis for data interpretation. The findings highlight a complex relationship between supervision and management training and police officer performance. While acknowledging some positive impacts of the training, the study identifies various obstacles that hinder its full effectiveness. These challenges include resource limitations, lack of follow-up support, administrative burdens, resistance to change, inadequate integration of training, and heavy workloads. The study suggests the importance of a comprehensive approach to supervision and management training tailored to the needs of law enforcement agencies. Recommendations include customising training programs, increasing participant engagement, and establishing consistent follow-up mechanisms. These insights are not only relevant to Nkurenkuru Police Station but also offer valuable lessons for law enforcement agencies worldwide seeking to optimise their performance through effective training strategies.

Effective Project Delivery Method for Public Construction: Case in the Oromia Region, West Wallaga Zone

This thesis is to identify and evaluate effective delivery methods and assess their applicability to the local situations in the Oromia region of the West Wallaga Zone. The significance of the research is that the broadening of the service packages is believed to enable the optimization of the process and the product as a whole in the construction industry, as well as facilitate the development of the infrastructure sectors. The objective of this research is to identify effective project delivery methods for public works construction in the Oromia Region West Wallaga Zone. The data collection process used in the research had the option of two basic methods: primary data collection and secondary data collection. Accordingly, four project delivery methods based on their relevance to the local situation have been evaluated; their merits, demerits, and requirements have been identified. These methods are: the design-bid-build, construction managers (at resk and at fee), the design-build, and the design-build-operate-transfer methods. Based on these findings of the study, the design-bid-Build method has been the most widely used effective project delivery method in the Oromia Region West Wallaga Zone. Performance-based project delivery methods are thought to offer a way to develop the sector and to benefit all stakeholders. In order to benefit all parties involved in the building sector, this will serve as a beneficial addition to the current techniques.

Applying MALDI-TOF MS to resolve morphologic and genetic similarities between two Dermacentor tick species of public health importance

Hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) have been historically identified by morphological methods which require highly specialized expertise and more recently by DNA-based molecular assays that involve high costs. Although both approaches provide complementary data for tick identification, each method has limitations which restrict their use on large-scale settings such as regional or national tick surveillance programs. To overcome those obstacles, the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been introduced as a cost-efficient method for the identification of various organisms, as it balances performance, speed, and high data output. Here we describe the use of this technology to validate the distinction of two closely related Dermacentor tick species based on the development of the first nationwide MALDI-TOF MS reference database described to date. The dataset obtained from this protein-based approach confirms that tick specimens collected from United States regions west of the Rocky Mountains and identified previously as Dermacentor variabilis are the recently described species, Dermacentor similis. Therefore, we propose that this integrative taxonomic tool can facilitate vector and vector-borne pathogen surveillance programs in the United States and elsewhere.

Risk factors associated with meningitis outbreak in the Upper West Region of Ghana: A matched case-control study.

The Northern part of Ghana lies within the African meningitis belt and has historically been experiencing seasonal meningitis outbreaks. Despite the continuous meningitis outbreak in the region, the risk factors contributing to the occurrence of these outbreaks have not been clearly identified. This study, therefore, sought to describe the clinical characteristics and possible risk factors associated with meningitis outbreaks in the Upper West Region (UWR). A 1:2 matched case-control study was conducted in May-December 2021 to retrospectively investigate possible risk factors for meningitis outbreak in the UWR of Ghana between January and December 2020. Cases were persons with laboratory confirmed meningitis, and controls were persons of similar age and sex without meningitis living in the same house or neighborhood with a confirmed case. Both primary and secondary data including clinical, socio-demographic and laboratory information were collected and entered on standard questionnaires. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and conditional logistic regression. Meningitis cases were mostly due to Streptococcus pneumoniae (67/98; 68.37%), followed by Neisseria meningitides serogroup X (27/98; 27.55%). Fever occurred in 94.03% (63/67) of Streptococcus pneumoniae cases and 100% in both Neisseria meningitidis serogroup X (27/27) and Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W groups (3/3). CSF white cell count was significantly associated with the causative agents of meningitis. Conditional logistic regression analysis showed that, passive exposure to tobacco [AOR = 3.65, 95%CI = 1.03-12.96], bedrooms with 3 or more people [AOR = 4.70, 95%CI = 1.48-14.89] and persons with sore throat infection [AOR = 8.97, 95%CI = 2.73-29.43] were independent risk factors for meningitis infection. Headache, fever and neck pain continue to be the most common symptoms reported by meningitis patients. Education and other preventive interventions targeting exposure to tobacco smoke and crowded rooms would be helpful in reducing meningitis outbreaks in the Upper West Region of Ghana.

Limited sensitivity of Antarctic GIA mass change estimates to lateral viscosity variations

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) has revealed spatiotemporal mass changes in the Antarctic Ice Sheet. However, GRACE data must be corrected for the gravity changes due to glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). Here we investigate the sensitivity of GIA-induced gravity changes in Antarctica to the lithospheric thickness and upper mantle viscosity using a one-dimensional (1-D) model that assumes a radially varying Earth structure. The sensitivity is assessed using several Antarctic ice-history models that have been widely used to correct GRACE data. The results indicate a trade-off between lithospheric thickness and upper mantle viscosity in evaluating the Antarctic GIA correction. This trade-off exists for all ice-history models; however, the reason for the trade-off differs among models. Furthermore, since there is a sharp contrast in the Earth structure between West and East Antarctica, the adopted ice histories are separated into West and East Antarctic components to examine their contributions to the Antarctic GIA correction. We consider 1-D Earth structures that are averaged from the seismically derived three-dimensional Earth structure for West and East Antarctica. These results indicate that the contributions of the East and West Antarctic loads do not significantly affect the GIA corrections for the West and East Antarctic regions, respectively, and that the trade-off between lithospheric thickness and upper mantle viscosity results in minimal divergence in the assessment of the Antarctic GIA correction between the averaged Earth models of West and East Antarctica. Therefore, the contrast in Earth structure beneath Antarctica may have a limited effect on the ice-mass change estimates for the entire Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Time to recovery from severe pneumonia and its predictors among pediatric patients admitted in South West Region governmental hospitals, South West Ethiopia: Prospective follow-up study

BackgroundThe Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health has been working by introducing vaccines, and integrating the management of newborn and child illnesses to prevent pneumonia, pneumonia-related hospitalization, and mortality. Despite these attempts, the prevalence of pneumonia and the proportion of hospitalizations have increased. Little is known about recovery time from severe pneumonia and its predictors in pediatric patients in the study area. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the time to recovery from severe pneumonia and its predictors in pediatric patients admitted to government hospitals in the southwest Region. Methods and MaterialsA hospital-based prospective follow-up study was conducted among 791 pediatric patients admitted with severe pneumonia at a governmental hospital in the South West Region, of Ethiopia. A systematic sampling technique was used to recruit participants. Data were entered into Epi-data 4.4.2.1 and exported to STATA 14 for analysis. The assumptions of Cox proportional hazard models and goodness of fit were assessed using the Shoenfield residual and Cox-Snell, respectively. Bivariate and multivariable Cox regression models were used to identify the predictors of time to recovery. Variables with a p-value of <0.05 at a 95 % confidence level in multivariable Cox regression model analysis were declared statistically significant predictors of time to recovery. ResultsThis study revealed that 641 (81.04 %) participants recovered with an incidence rate of 12.48 per 100 person-day observations. The median time to recovery was 5 days. Rural residence [AHR=0.82; 95 % CI 0.69–0.97], hypoxemia [AHR=1.25; 95 % CI 1.01- 1.55], danger sign, [AHR=1.77; 95 % CI 1.28- 2.45], comorbidity [AHR=0.60; 95 % CI 0.50- 0.7] and history of previous respiratory infections [AHR=0.76; 95 % CI 0.64- 0.90] were found significant predictors of time to recovery from severe pneumonia. ConclusionIn this study, the recovery rate from severe pneumonia among pediatric patients was low and the time to recovery was slightly prolonged with a median time to recovery of five days. Rural residence, hypoxemia, danger signs, comorbidity, and history of previous respiratory infections were independent predictors of time to recovery among pediatric patients. Therefore, the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health, family, community leaders, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders should provide timely initiation of advanced diagnosis, appropriate therapeutic interventions, and proper follow-up for pediatric patients with severe pneumonia to reduce mortality.

Large-scale agro-industries and host community land restitution demands: understanding the land-use conflicts between the CDC and Fako elites in the south west region, Cameroon

Large-scale land acquisition has been frequent in most parts of Africa. This frequently led to extensive dispossession among other pitfalls of violation of indigenous land ownership rights. A significant proportion of Fako division’s fertile slopes and plains were expropriated by the Germans for implantation and development of plantations. Ownership rights of indigenous community lands were transferred without the legal consent of the rightful native authorities. Against the backdrop of this colonial intrusion and consequential violations of local customary tenure rights, the growing need for justice and restoration of dignity has been a shared value among a preponderant proportion of the local Bakweri ethnic group. This culminated to a restitution decision of CDC leased lands to the Bakweri by the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights. Nonetheless, the proportion of restituted lands has not been significant and satisfactory enough to conciliate the expropriated host communities of the extensive CDC leaseholds. As such, landownership contestations and its consequential socio-political tensions still persist in Fako. This paper is centered on yet a more frequently expressed contestation: encroachment into and occupancy of CDC leaseholds by natives of Fako as a whole and Ndongo of Tiko sub-division in particular. Prior extensive documentary review was done which pointed to the locality of Ndongo as a suitable case of interest. Contrary to the general land grabbing tendencies of agro-businesses, community members here are accused of unauthorized intrusion into and tenancy of lands with legal ownership rights belonging to the CDC. The study was ethnographic comprising of individual in-depth interviews and observations.