Old Fadama: Threat to Ghana achieving MDGs

By Helena Selby

Old Fadama has been identified as the largest slum in Accra. It occupies 3.1 hectares of land and having a population of about 80,000. The place, over past years, has become a shelter for a lot of youth, especially, those from the northern parts of Ghana, seeking greener pastures and a better standard of living.

It is also a shelter for most northerners trying to escape from forced early marriages and witchcraft accusations. The settlement is considered illegal and the settlers threatened with forced eviction, and have been denied developmental projects, in terms of health and creation of jobs.

The government, in a nutshell, has indirectly made the people aware that they are on their own. Even when it comes to the fulfilling of the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs), from the look of things, it seems the government is prepared to risk failing the achievement of these goals by not paying attention to the problems of Old Fadama, since the people have refused to relocate.

Old Fadama and MDGs, HIV/AIDS Combat

The combating of HIV/AIDS in Ghana is one of the priorities of the government, which is why it went ahead to include herself among the 189 nations which signed the MDG declaration including the combating of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases by 2015. Since the government is committed to achieving these goals, it has brought about and organised many campaigns to raise awareness for its citizens, especially, in the area of HIV/AIDS, which is incurable.

As the nation needs healthy people to strengthen her labour force, the government is making sure that the campaign on the awareness of HIV/AIDS reaches the doorsteps of every individual. Though Old Fadama has almost 80,000 settlers, the government has not thought it wise to save the people from these dreadful diseases by extending HIV/AIDS campaigns to the community. With the explanation that their occupation of the land is illegal, the government has refused to bear in mind that as they are still citizens of Ghana, and that the stigma associated with the diseases does not affect the individual only, but the nation as well.

It is sad to note that the recent research conducted by the Ghana Federation of Urban Poor (GHFUP), the People’s Dialogue on Human Settlement, Journalists for Human Rights and some students of the Africa Communication University College, revealed that national HIV/aids activities and programmes do not reach the community, resulting in the members organising such activities for themselves. According to the research, members of the Old Fadama Development Association (OFADA) organise and run HIV/ aids programmes and activities.

According to the Secretary and the local HIV/AIDS activist, Mr. Imoro Toyibo, members of the association usually perform dances and drama to educate the settlers on the dangers of the diseases, how they are transmitted, and how one can protect him or herself. He said, even though this activity is just a visual form of educating the people, it has gone a long way in sensitising the community, to the extent that for the past four years he could recall only one HIV/AIDS patient who had died in the vicinity.

The Vice Chairperson of the association, Mr. Abubakari Shei, disclosed that the slum had quite a number of brothels, numbering over 30. The sex workers are mostly young women who travel from the northern parts of the country in search of greener pastures. They arrive in Accra without skills, thereby resorting to prostitution when the going gets tough. He said most of these girls usually have no knowledge of the existence of the HIV scourge, but acquire this during their numerous campaigns.

According to him the kayayei (female head porters) and traders are the group who mostly contribute to the spread of the virus in the community, as they don’t reside in the community, but come there to do business, and do not bother to check their HIV status. As the community is a slum, there is no government health monitoring agency to keep records of cases of affected people. He said with the help of foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like the American Jewish World Service, the association members were able to get access to condoms which they distribute to sex workers through ten public outlets in the community. The cry of the association is that they want government, especially, the Ghana AIDS Commission, to come to their aid, as the community needs testing and counseling every month.

Scrap dealers and electronic waste

Electronic waste burning and scrap dealing are some of the profitable businesses in Old Fadama, but very hectic, coupled with the health risks associated with them. The youth involved have to go long distances under the scorching sun in order to get the needed electronic waste to burn or scrap. The heat associated with the burning does not only affect the young men who usually deal in this business, but children around and the environment as well. The process of extracting these metals and wires, mostly done with child labour, involves the breaking apart and burning of the products, which end up releasing toxic elements like lead, mercury and brominates, which pollute the atmosphere of the surroundings. According to SCIENCE DIRECT, a website on health, exposure to lead can have a wide range of effects on a child’s development and behaviour. Even when exposed to small amounts of lead levels, children may appear inattentive, hyperactive and irritable.

Children with greater lead levels may also have problems with learning, reading, delayed growth and loss of hearing. At high levels, lead can cause permanent brain damage, and even death. Early identification and treatment of lead poisoning, reduces the risk, thus preventing the children from suffering permanent damage. Treatment begins with removal of the child from the sources of the lead, while medications can remove lead from the body.

The soil from an open burning site is moderately contaminated, while sediment from the Agbogbloshie Lagoon contains a very high level of these highly toxic, highly persistent and bio accumulative chemicals, at a level just below the threshold defined as being indicative of serious contamination for sediment.

Conclusion

Due to Old Fadama being abandoned by the government, the Ghana Federation of Urban Poor (GHFUP) and the People’s Dialogue on Human Settlement have taken it upon itself to help the community through an enumeration programme that gathers statistics in the community. This collection helps the city authorities and NGOs to know more about the community, and can also be used to solicit the government to draft policy decisions to address the challenges faced by the residents.

The enumeration programme is the first step to improving conditions in the country’s most notorious slums. In 2007, it was quoted by public authorities that the population in Old Fadama was 48,280, without the large number of kayayei, but it was in 2009 that GHFUP came out with the right figure. The programme has helped identify the major problems of the community and allowed members of the GHFUP and Old Fadama community to take care of their own development.

The GHFUP research revealed that although the Accra Metropolitan assembly (AMA) continues to threaten the settlers of Old Fadama with eviction, they have learned how to negotiate with stakeholders in securing a better future for themselves, and are being empowered to stand up for their rights.

Ghana: Marijuana (ntampi) Usage in Country

by Helena Selby

The abuse of drugs is one of the most popular social vices among the youth today. The fight against the use of drugs, and especially drug addiction, has become the priority of many world leaders. Even though drug abuse and addiction is an unfortunate situation that is taking the better part of the youth nowadays, the number of youth engaged in it increases every day.

In Ghana the abuse of drugs among the youth is no more news in the various communities, as many drug users do not care about the stigma associated with it. Unlike in the past, where by users hide themselves when using the substances, things seem to have changed, as some hide themselves others smoke it in the public, especially, in places of excessive fun.

The terrible thing about drug abuse, which really drags down the progress of the nation so far, has been the period whereby the user loses his or her state of mind. The use of substances such as marijuana mostly land users in mental institutions, and considering the present condition of Ghana's mental hospitals, and the number of users increasing by the day, what will then be the future of the economy, as the government will have to sacrifice and pump some of its scarce resources into taking care of them. The use of marijuana in Ghana has become one of the main causes of mental illness among the youth today, as some end up in psychiatric hospitals, while others find themselves on the streets and in prayer camps.

Use of marijuana in Ghana

In Ghana, the most substance abused is marijuana (indian hemp or wee) which is the cheapest drug and packaged at Gp50 per piece, which is very affordable. The use of heroin and cocaine is not very popular among substance abusers in Ghana, due to their high cost. According to the 2007 World Drug Report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, 21.5% of Ghanaians, aged from 15 to 64, smoked marijuana or used another cannabis product in 2006. The report continues that Ghanaians use marijuana more than five times the world average, which, as a result, has made Ghana the leader of African countries and third in the world in cannabis or marijuana.

The report further indicates that Ghana ranks third in the world on marijuana use, behind Papua New Guinea and Micronesia with 29 per cent each. If Ghana was the leading in country in the usage of marijuana in Africa and the third in the world, as of 2007, then one will not be surprised if it rises up to be the first in the world, considering the rate at which the youth indulge in the substance every day.

Gone were the days when Rastafarians were the most popular users of marijuana, but things have changed now. The culprits are mostly youth who migrate from rural to urban areas for greener pastures, as many of these youth during their stay in the various cities get themselves involved in substance smoking. Many students in the senior high schools and at the tertiary level are as well culprits of marijuana usage. The fact of the issue is that youth from both rich and poor homes get themselves into this mess due to peer pressure.

Marijuana smoking places in Accra

At Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Accra, where electronic waste are burnt, many of the youth, coming from the northern part of Ghana, smoke marijuana while burning the electronic waste, and the funny aspect is that when one piece is lighted, it is transferred from one person to another till it is finished. Sometimes, they go to the extent of fighting over one lighted piece with the explanation that one is taking too long to transfer it to another.

The surprising thing is they are not bothered about the level of heat produced by the burning electronic waste, but go ahead and smoke, no wonder they often complain of feeling excessive heat in their heads.

At Tudu, also a suburb Accra, which is a well known vicinity of substance abuse in Accra, marijuana, which is popularly known as "taaba, ntampi or ganja," is sold at wholesaler to retailers in the various communities outside Tudu. The popularity of the place and the rate at which social vices occur there compelled the police to raid there in the late part of April 2011, to arrest many substance abusers, since it is illegal. Surprisingly, many of these substance users who were arrested and put before court in at the long run might be given just about three years jail sentence.

Marijuana use and health

According to Buddy T of about.com guide, when marijuana is smoked, it begins to affect the users almost immediately, and can last for one to three hours. When it is eaten in food, such as baked in brownies and cookies, the effects take longer to begin, but usually last longer. Sometimes, marijuana use can also produce anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic.

The active ingredient in marijuana, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, acts on cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and influences the activity of those cells. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors, but other areas of the brain have few or none at all. Many cannabinoid receptors are found in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.

When high doses of marijuana are used, usually, when eaten in food rather than smoked, users can experience symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, impaired memory and disorientation.

Within a few minutes after smoking marijuana, the heart begins beating more rapidly, and the blood pressure drops. Marijuana can cause the heart beat to increase by 20 to 50 beats per minute, and can increase even more, if other drugs are used at the same time.

Because of the lower blood pressure and higher heart rate, researchers found that users' risk for a heart attack is four times higher within the first hour after smoking marijuana, compared to their general risk of heart attack when not smoking.

Smoking marijuana, even infrequently, can cause burning and stinging of the mouth and throat, and cause heavy coughing. Scientists have found that regular marijuana smokers can experience the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers do, including daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illnesses, increased risk of lung infections and obstructed airways.

Conclusion

The smoking of marijuana can as well adversely affect the immune system which will make it very difficult for the individual system to fight against various diseases. Smoking marijuana regularly (a joint a day) can damage the cells in the bronchial passages which protect the body against inhaled microorganisms, and decrease the ability of the immune cells in the lungs to fight off fungi, bacteria, and tumor cells.

For patients with already weakened immune systems, this means an increase in the possibility of dangerous pulmonary infections, including pneumonia, which often proves fatal in AIDS patients. As the use of marijuana does not only affect the brain, but the other parts of the body, especially, the immune system, the government, in this case, must be prepared to risk some part of the nation's money on the treatment of substance addicts if it does not work hard to control and eradicate the activities of marijuana or substance addiction in the country.