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Traditional medicine in Nigeria: The appraisal of an African cultural heritage
No full textfrica is a culturally heterogeneous continent. It has witnessed changes in virtually all facets of life. Nevertheless, certain traits of African cultures have subsisted despite social and cultural changes. One of such is traditional medicine, which was the earliest means of healthcare delivery in the continent that is still widely practiced today. Its Africanness consists in its uniqueness to Africa, which is inherent in its age-long practice among the peoples and societies of Africa. This paper therefore, examines the nature and common characteristics of traditional medicine in Africa, south of the Sahara using Nigeria as a reference point. It posits that because of its antiquity, traditional medicine is not just a means of solving health problems but also an important, African cultural heritage. Review shows that, traditional medicine is an organized system of healthcare delivery, which cuts across different societies and cultures of Africa. It is recommended that governments of African countries should educate or enlighten their peoples on the need to see traditional medicine not only as a means of healing but also as an important African heritage, which should be appreciated and preserved
Impact of microcredit on poverty reduction among rural women in Ghana: The case of Upper East Region: Impact of microcredit on poverty reduction among rural women in Ghana: The case of Upper East Region
No full textThe literature on microfinance reveals that microcredit is a powerful tool in reducing poverty. In consonance with this, the main objective of this study was to verify the impact of microcredit on poverty reduction among rural women in the Upper East Region of Ghana, using the Heckman method of estimation. In pursuance of this, data was collected from 500 women engaged in agro-processing of whom 250 were beneficiaries of microcredit and 250 non-beneficiaries. The results showed the existence of spatial differences in the levels of poverty in the Region. Respondents from Builsa, Kasena-Nankana, Bongo and Bawku West Districts had higher levels of weekly consumption expenditures and for that matter are better off than their counterparts from the Talensi/Nabdan District. Also the number of income generating activities and the number of sources of borrowing have a positive impact on poverty. The predicted weekly mean consumption expenditure indicated that respondents who received microcred: > are better off than those who did not receive microcredit as the.beneficiaries spend more per week than the non-beneficiaries. By implication, microcredit has a positive impact on poverty reduction among rural women engaged in agroprocessing in the Upper East Region. In the light of this, microcredit intervention should be strengthened in the Upper East Region since it has a positive impact on poverty reduction
Improving access to health care facilities through decentralisation in Ghana : Improving access to health care facilities through decentralisation in Ghana
No full textThe study assessed the impact of decentralization on physical accessibility to healthcare facilities in ghana. It was conducted in the Asante Akim North Municapility,New Juaben Municipality and Twifu-Heman-Lower Denkyira district. The study was conceptualised within the geographical accessibility framework and the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technique was used to create health buffers. It was found that health care facilities were expanded and physical accessibility improved, partly as a result of the implementation of the decentralisation programme. However, the study showed that the inequalities between and within Municipalities and Districts were not addressed. A meaningful intervention by the Municipal/District Assemblies (MDAs) and the Ghana Health Service • (GHS) on inequalities requires mapping of existing health facilities. Application ofcoverage models using GIS is therefore recommended to the MDAs in collaboration with the GHS in order to reduce inequalities in physical accessibility to health care facilities
Stretching to informal workers: The Ghana Trades Union Congress’s hand and social protection: Stretching to informal workers: The Ghana Trades Union Congress’s hand and social protection
No full textTrade unions have adopted various ingenious strategies to reach out to groups of informal workers who were once considered beyond organisation. The unions claim this move is meant to offer protection to the unregulated workers. Drawing largely on secondary data (i.e. through the review of relevant documents) this paper shows that organisational coverage of unions to date lacks the substance of meaningful and genuine representation of their fluid affiliated informal workers. The voices and interests of affiliated informal workers are excluded from the mainstream activities of the formal traditional unions due to structural rigidities. It requires unions to temper its narrow focus on collective bargaining and embrace a much wider conceptualisation of their functions within the domain of social protection. This forms the central position of the paper. The paper also demonstrated that where unions are institutionally responsive, they can achieve some level of social protection for their associate informal worker groups
Islam and traditions in Africa: friends or foes?
No full textThis paper examines the interplay of Islam and traditional African ideas, institutions and cultural practices. It reviews some cultural aspects of Islam and African traditions aiming to find-out how African cultural, i.e. religious, political, social and even linguistic values have either been accommodated by or have accommodated Islam. The framework involves the theories of inculturation, acculturation and enculturation. The method used was a critical analysis of some values of Africans and Muslims. Islam has accommodated and has been accommodated by some African traditions. Although, the two traditions have had some frictions such as the Muslim jihad which took away political power from some of the indigenous people, yet, they have generally coexisted peacefully as some African chiefs either became Muslims or African Muslims have become chiefs and sometimes even made Islam a state religion. The paper, therefore, concludes that Islam and African traditions have been friends and not foes
“The plague of pebbles/stones’: river goddess, black stool and re-writing Adawso-Akuapem history”
No full textIn this context, events in Adawso gave credibility to the assertion that in ancient Africa, matriarchy had preceded patriarchal kinship and inheritance system in Africa; and that it was colonialism that distorted and supplanted indigenous African kinship system. Was matriarchy fundamental to the ideals of kinship system in ancient and traditional Africa? Ifi Amadiume has strongly advocated for a re-interpretation of African history whereby the historical place of womanhood is restored to its rightful place. In doing this she rejects any attempt at “imitating” Eurocentric feminism to “construct” new structures arguing that, “we already have a history and legacy of a woman’s culture” and that there is therefore the need to highlight it in a social enquiry
Colonial boundaries and the challenges of transition to multi party democracy in sub-Saharan Africa
No full textAt independence, African countries south of the Sahara were confronted with the problem of national integration. This problem was borne out of the partition of the continent in a manner that brought different ethnic groups together to form artificially created states. This paper argues that the difficulties most African countries faced during the wholesale transition to multi-party rule in the 1990s were traceable to the ethnic diversities of the states. A sense of shared nationality, a pre-requisite for national integration and unity, was weak or was yet to be forged in most countries. This weakness had negative implications for multi-party democracy in Africa, for political pluralism stirred up ethnic conflicts/upheavals which tore countries apart. Pro-democracy movements during the transitional period emboldened the zeal of component ethnic groups to assert their identities on the political scene
Economic exclusion and working poverty: the case of the informal sector workers in the MIDA intervention zone in Ghana: Economic exclusion and working poverty: the case of the informal sector workers in the MIDA intervention zone in Ghana
No full textThere is a growing concern over working poverty, especially in nations where inequality remains very high. While scholars in the advanced economies attribute working poverty mainly to economic exclusion, there appears to be limited literature on the issue, particularly for the informal sector of the developing economies. However, surveys (various issues of GLSS) on the Ghanaian economy have identified some informal sector worker as poor. Using the data of Ghana Living Standard Survey Five Plus (GLSS 5+), both OLS and probit models were employed in estimating the incidence of working poverty in the MiDA intervention area of Ghana. Factors such as high dependency ratio, labour inefficiency and underemployment by classification of hours worked came out strongly as supporting \u27working poverty\u27. The results seem to confirm the outcome of several studies in the developed economies that have identified factors of economic exclusion such as labour inefficiency and underemployment as the main causes of \u27working poverty\u27. This means that poverty among informal sector workers in Ghana should not be solely attributed to joblessness. A comprehensive poverty reduction strategy is therefore needed to tone down underemployment while improving labour efficiency of the informal sector workers to ensure higher labour returns
Knowledge of transmission patterns of HIV/AIDS among students of tertiary institutions in Kwara State, Nigeria: Knowledge of transmission patterns of HIV/AIDS among students of tertiary institutions in Kwara State, Nigeria
No full textThis study investigated knowledge of transmission patterns of HIV/AIDS among students of tertiary institutions in Kwara State, Nigeria. A proportionate sampling technique was used to select 700 students from five tertiary institutions in Kwara State. The hypotheses formulated were tested using Chi-square and analysis of variance (ANOVA) at oc = 0.05 level of significance. In the findings, calculated X2 value of 124.69 revealed that the students have adequate knowledge about HIV/AIDS transmission through sexual contacts, also calculated x2 value of 67.83 revealed that students have adequate knowledge that HIV/AIDS can transmit through mother to child and the ANOVA result of 3.52 showed that students of various tertiary institutions in Kwara State have varied knowledge about HIV/AIDS transmission in health care setting. Fisher least significance difference was used as multiple range comparison test to identity where the significant difference between and within the group of students. Based on the findings, it was recommended that AIDS education to include STDs, sexuality and reproductive health education should be made compulsory and be incorporated into the syllabi and curricula from primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in Nigeria among others
Prospective history teachers ’ perceptions of the history syllabus of senior high schools in Ghana
No full textSyllabus development and implementation have pre-occupied the minds of educationists since the global evolution of modern educational systems because it provides the basis for the content of the lessons, the balance of skills taught and the kinds of behavioural outcomes students are supposed to exhibit at the end of a particular course. The search for a defined perception of teachers in the successful implementation of history syllabus has been a central theme of research effort over the past several decades. This study, employing a phenomenological research strategy, is aimed at evaluating the perception of prospective history teachers of the History Syllabus in the Cape Coast Metropolis. The prospective history teacher population was made up of final year students from the University of Cape Coast in the Central Region and the study made use of the total number of that particular year group. The participants were engaged in focus group discussions. During the deliberations, the researcher took notes, and tape recorded the information which was later transcribed for discussion. From the findings, it is fair to say that the syllabus is a “balanced and progressive document” which allows students to develop equally both their expressive and receptive capabilities. The research also revealed that in the construction and reconstruction of a future history syllabus, the time available for the execution of the topics must be considered. This will ensure that teachers would be able to use the appropriate and recommended methods of teaching the subject because participants recognised that most history teachers do not use the right methods in teaching as a result of their attempt to finish topics in the syllabus