In 2023, Ghana exported over $10 million worth of scrap metal, according to the Ghana Export Promotion Authority.
Browsing: Health
The “Galamsey Midwife” reveals the hidden SRHR crisis in Ghana’s illegal mining camps, where women and girls face sexual exploitation, mercury poisoning, and systemic neglect.
For generations, Techiman’s farmers cleared fields with controlled burns. “Fire is our tractor,” explains cassava processor Kofi Boateng, gesturing at mounds of rotting mango peels outside Techiman Central Market. But climate change has weaponized tradition:
– *Rainfall has dropped 30% since 2020, desiccating crops into tinder
– Temperatures now spike to 42°C during Harmattan season
– 300+ tons of weekly market waste—with no municipal composting—pile up in fields
The Machine Sees What It’s Told to See
Cadbury’s Cocoa Life program says their AI can spot child labor with 85% accuracy, but only within the GPS locations given to them by cocoa cooperatives. That means if a child like Kofi walks out of the cocoa field and into a nearby mine, the system stops tracking him.
“Our satellites can identify children carrying machetes or cocoa sacks,” said a Nestlé sustainability officer, who asked not to be named. “But if that same child enters a mine pit after school? Our system marks that as ‘out of scope.’”
APEX, a civil society organization advocating for national development, has issued a stern call to Ghanaian authorities to intensify efforts in clamping down on illegal foreign miners, particularly Chinese nationals who have been implicated in destructive galamsey (illegal mining) operations across the country.
Maternal deaths in Northern Ghana surged from 69 in 2022 to 100 in 2024 despite the “free maternal care” policy. A 40% supply gap, oxytocin shortages, and unofficial hospital fees expose a broken health system where poor mothers still pay with their lives.
Every few months, the Ghanaian public is assured of a tough, no-nonsense crackdown on illegal gold mining, locally known as galamsey. Headlines scream victory as machines are seized and arrests are made. Yet, one inconvenient truth haunts these promises: galamsey thrives deeper, more lucrative, and more destructive than ever before — largely under the shadow of China’s influence and the deep, rotting roots of political compromise that began as far back as the Rawlings era.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has clarified the circumstances surrounding the recent power disconnection at Kejetia Market, following a report by Ghanaian Watch titled ‘Dumsor’ Strikes Kejetia Market for Days, Wreaks Havoc – Traders Face Business Collapse, Drivers Lose Passengers.
The Ashanti region of Ghana is facing a slow but deadly crisis. Illegal gold mining, known locally as galamsey, has turned farmlands into wastelands and poisoned major rivers, including the Enu, Oda, Offin, Pra, Afram, Owabi, Fum, Subin, Agogo, and Gyimi.
The situation Aisha faces isn’t unique. Across the slums of Krofrom , Moshie Zongo, Aboabo, Asawase and Asafo, silent hunger grips hundreds of children.
A 2024 report by the Ghana Health Service reveals that over 37% of children under five in these communities are moderately or severely underweight.