NAME: Elaine Tweneboah (Bsc.(hons) Zoology/Botany, Dip.ed (UCC), Mphil Environmental Sc.(Ghana)
CURRENT
POSITION: Principal Organiser (gender & Environment)
Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS)
University of Ghana, Legon
Email: elainetweneboah@yahoo.com
PROFILE:
Ms Tweneboah completed the University of Cape Coast in 1998
with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (Botany and Zoology) and a Diploma
in Education. In 1999 she was admitted
to the Environmental Science Programme for a Master of Philosophy degree in the
University of Ghana, which she obtained in December 2001. Currently Ms Elaine
Tweneboah is a Principal Organiser at the Centre for Social Policy Studies,
specialising in research on gender and the environment.
Ms Tweneboah
has been involved in a number of research projects. Examples of these are the
“Women’s Health in the City of Accra Project”, sponsored by the Institute of
African Studies, University of Ghana, and the University of Michigan with
support from the Ford Foundation, and the United Nations Environment (UNEP) and
Biodiversity Planning Support Programme (BPSP)’s Integrating Biodiversity into
the Tourism Sector country case studies. Organisations she has been involved
with include the Development and Women’s Studies (DAWS) of the University of
Ghana, the National Commission on Women and Children (NCWD). She is also a
member of the Association of Women’s rights in Development (AWID) and a member
of the International Association of Impact Assessors (IAIA-Ghana).
In May 2002,
she was invited to the African Gender Institute (AGI) of the University of Cape
Town to participate in their 3-month Associateship programme. Her research
topic was Women and the coastal pollution
in Ghana.
·
Environmental conservation,
·
Environmental & Reproductive health,
·
Pollution and sanitation issues
·
Gender and sexuality
·
The status of women in Africa
·
Gender and family
·
Violence against women
·
February 15th - 20th Nordic African Institute
Conference on Motherhood. Presented paper with the title Looking Back-Narratives of Ashanti women in pre-colonial and colonial
era.
Abstract of paper
Increasingly, the images of Black
African women in academic reproductions are being criticised. This could be
because many Western centred-constructions of history do not provide the
complete understanding of our “African story”. This paper looks back into the
Ancient Ashanti Kingdom. It highlights images of women and the different roles
they played some 100 years before colonialism. Some changes that occurred with
the advent of colonialism are also mentioned. This narrative emphasises the
women’s capabilities and their strengths. Thus the aim of this paper is not to
endorse or refute any particular anthropological theory but to conduct an
honest and open review of the roles of Ashanti women as they appear in
historical records, highlighting some positive representations, legends and
myths. Indeed there are some negative aspects of the African culture have been
identified as some of the greatest challenges facing the African Women's
Movement and the young feminist movement in Africa today. That notwithstanding,
these records portray powerful images of Ashanti women as mothers, as wives and
as warriors.
·
July 13th 2002 African Gender Institute (AGI) Associate
Programme Seminar Series. Title of Report Women
and coastal pollution in Ghana.
As a result of
their functions as some of the most productive ecosystems, coastal zones are
extremely important to most coastal countries. The coastal zone of Ghana is 550
km long. There are a number of environmental issues that threaten its
existence. Using Ada-Foah as a case study, this report identifies some of the
environmental issues in the coastal zone of Ghana. Empirical evidence is used
to show that the communities and households are gendered and the activities
women undertake in fulfilling their roles put them in very close contact with
the biophysical environment. It argues that despite their numbers and
activities, which put them in a position to play an active role in
environmental conservation within the community, women are still a minority
when it comes to decisions that concern the environment. It proposes that in
the short term women, as well as men should through education be helped to
understand the value of coastal resources and the adverse impacts their
everyday activities could have on them. In the long term, policy measures are
needed to ensure women's involvement in sound environmental exploitation and
sustainable development in Ghana’s coastal zone.
·
Letting them
speak – Abortions in Accra and its implication on HIV/AIDS
·
Visions for the
future - Women Integrated Coastal Zone management In Ghana
·
Reasons,
emotions and fears concerning abortions in Accra. In print
·
Invading our
territory- Local Residents perceptions of coastal tourism in Ghana
·
PROJECT PROPOSALS NEEDING FUNDING
1.
Project title
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH KNOWLEDGE AMONG ADOLESCENTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ADOLESCENTS IN URBAN AND RURAL AREAS IN THE GREATER ACCRA REGION OF GHANA
With an estimated 1 billion
adolescents alive today, the world is experiencing the largest adolescent
population in history (RHO, 2001). As a result, adolescent reproductive health
is an increasingly important component of global health. In recent years the importance of adolescent
reproductive health has began to receive increasing recognition particularly in
developing countries where 4 out of every 5 of the worlds young people live and
where more than half of the population is below the age of 25 (WHO, 1989). This
is because adolescents are more vulnerable than adults to HIV, other STDs and
unplanned pregnancies for a variety of reasons (Ashford, 2001: UNAIDS, 1997: Zabin, et al,
1986). In spite of
controversies surrounding adolescent sexuality at recent world conferences,
governments agreed to a comprehensive set of measures to improve adolescents’
health at the Cairo conference, which were expanded at the Beijing conference
and the Cairo five-year review. These include providing sexual and reproductive
health information to adolescents, encouraging parental involvement, using peer
educators to reach young people, provide integrated health services that
include family planning for sexually active teens and taking measures to
eliminate harmful practices and violence among young women. Programs
that can provide information and ensure access to services are crucial to the
future of this population
The kind of knowledge and perceptions that
adolescents possess about their sexuality and reproductive health matters is
key to ensuring that their decisions about marriage, sexual activities and
child bearing do not have adverse major implications for their societies and
for the future world population. To this effect it is important that they have
access to and obtain the right source of information on this subject.
Background and
rationale
The strength of any community depends on a
healthy adolescent population. The number of
sexually active adolescents has risen dramatically in the past 15 years (Society
for Adolescent Medicine, 1991). The Ministry of Health (MOH) defines
adolescent reproductive health as the state of complete physical, mental and
social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity in all
matters related to the reproductive system and its functional process among
people between the age of 10 and 19 years (MOH, 1995). Poor adolescent
reproductive health is manifest in increased teenage pregnancies (both wanted
and unwanted), unsafe abortions and sexually transmitted diseases among others.
Education has been identified as one of the
mechanisms for improving the reproductive health knowledge and practices
among the adolescents in
Ghana. Education must be disseminated to
adolescents in a variety of settings including home, clinics, schools, and
recreational and community-based facilities. It is against this background that
aspects of health and sex education have been included in the curricula of Moral Education
and Life skills in Junior and Senior Secondary Schools in Ghana. However,
adolescents in Ghana are increasingly being exposed to information from the
mass media, the print media and the Internet, all of which could also lead to
changes in sexual behaviour and impact negatively on the sex educational
initiatives by the Ministry of Education.
This study proposes to assess the effectiveness
of sex education in the classroom and how it affects decisions made by adolescents
in the area of reproductive health. It will also identify the major source of
information among adolescents, which influences their decisions on sexuality
and reproductive health.
Aims and objectives
Proposed aim of the study will be to assess the
kind of knowledge about reproductive health adolescents in Ghana possess and
where they obtain this knowledge. It will also seek to compare the perception
and knowledge that school going adolescents have and that of non-school going
adolescents.
These will be achieved by the following
specific objectives
The first phase of this study, respondents will be randomly selected from the Greater Accra Region. In all it is proposed that 300 adolescents be selected. 10 students between the ages of 10 ad 19 years will be randomly selected form 15 Junior and senior secondary schools in the region, making a total of 150 students. 150 adolescents who have either dropped out of schools or have not been to school will also be randomly selected from the region.
Both
primary and secondary data will be used. Primary information will be from interviews
and focus group discussions. These will include both structured and
unstructured interviews adolescents, teachers and some staff from the Ministry
of Education and NGOs involved in adolescent education on reproductive health.
The results will be analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitative method will find relationships between the independent and dependent variables. However, statistical methods used to investigate the results of survey usually ignore the interpretative process. A qualitative analysis will be used to examine the variables dealing with the social characteristics (Creswell, 1994). The findings can then be generalised based on the facts (Twumasi, 1986; Mckie, 1996). Open-ended questions from the questionnaire survey, results of the focus group discussions and the unstructured interviews will be analysed qualitatively. Secondary data will be obtained from books, journals, articles and project reports. Additional data will be sought from the Internet and from other documents relevant to the study.
Target
audience
The results of the study will be useful to the Ministry of Education in assessing how effective sex education in schools is. Its will also assist other Governmental and Non Governmental Organisations concerned with adolescent reproductive health and education in drawing up effective programmes in this area. The results will also be useful teaching materials for university courses in reproductive health.
Outcome
The outcome will be a report submitted to
the United Nations Populations Fund. It is proposed that it will be the first
of projects replicated across the country, which will give insight on the
adolescent reproductive health needs in Ghana. The outcome will also be
presented as a seminar at the Centre for Social Policy Studies to a wide mixed
participants from Governmental, Non Governmental Organisations and academia.
discussion moderators Jan. 2004
Proposed Budget
$8400
Ashford, S.A. 2001. “:New population
policies: advancing women’s health and right”s
Population Bulletin, vol. 56, no. 1
Creswell, J. W. 1994. Research Design-Qualitative and Quantitative
Approaches. Sage publications Inc. California, USA. 380p
McKie, L. 1996. Researching Women’s Health Method and Process. Mark Allen
Publishing Ltd. 186p
MOH, 1995. Maternal and child health
and family planning. Technical coordination and research division of the
Ministry of Health 51p
Reproductive Health Outlook (RHO), 2001. Adolescent Reproductive Health http://www.rho.org/html/adolescent.htm
Society for Adolescent Medicine, 1991. Reproductive Health care for Adolescents - A Position Statement of the Society for Adolescent Medicine Position Paper on Reproductive Health Care for Adolescents - Journal of Adolescent Health 12:649-661- http://www.adolescenthealth.org/html/reproductive_health_.html
Twumasi, P.A. 1986. Social
research in rural communities. Ghana Universities Press, Accra. 119p
UNAIDS, 1997. Impact of HIV and sexual health education on the sexual behaviour of
young people: a review update. Geneva: UNAIDS
WHO, 1989. The reproductive health of adolescents-A strategy for action. A joint WHO/UNFPA/UNICEF statement
Zabin LS, Hirsch
MB, Smith EA, et al.1986. “Evaluation of a pregnancy prevention program for
urban teenagers”. Family Planning Perspective 18:119-126
2
Project Title IMPLICATIONS OF THE DECLINE OF AVAILABILITY OF HERBS USED FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH IN GHANA: THE LINK TO MATERNAL MORTALITY AND TO HIV-AIDS
The World Health Organization (WHO) data
indicate that 80 percent of people rely on herbs in countries from South Africa
to Ethiopia. In Ghana, there has been a
marked increase in the advertisement and marketing of herbs and herbal
preparations in the media, on vehicles and on the streets. The Ghana Medical
Association, the pharmaceutical Board and the Foods and drugs Board have all
raised concerns about this increase.
For centuries many people in Africa have used
herbs and herbal preparations to cure their diseases and disorders. There is
about one traditional practitioner for every 400 people, compared to one
medical doctor per 12,000 people. Women
use them in several ways, mainly in connection with their reproductive health
needs. For example Baleta (1998) found that 80 percent of sex workers in
southern Africa practice dry sex using Vaginal Drying Agents (VDAs)in order to
avoid reminding clients that they recently have had sex with other men
(Sayagues, 1998). Dallabetta et al.
(1995) examined the use of vaginal agents in Malawi through the use of a
questionnaire and STD screening. Of 6,603 women, 13 percent used intravaginal
agents for tightening, and 34 percent for self-treatment of vaginal discharge
and itching. In multivariate analysis, vaginal agent use for treatment was
independently associated with HIV seropositivity. In addition to the increased
risk of HIV infection, vaginal agents may interfere with condom or microbicide
use. The real concern is the fact that VDAs increase the risk of
micro-abrasions which in turn increase the risk of STD/HIV-AIDS transmission
(Runganga & Kasule, 1995; van de Wijgert, et al., 2000). This view
has been disputed by Sandala, et al., (1995) who investigated prevalence,
reasons for, and side effects of dry sex practices, and the relationship with
HIV infection in a sexually transmitted disease clinic in Lusaka. Africa has
about 28.1 million of the world's 40 million people living with HIV-AIDS.
Herbs and also used as abortifacients. Each
year, approximately 20 million unsafe abortions are performed worldwide. They
result in nearly 80,000 maternal deaths and hundreds of thousands of
disabilities (WHO, 1997). Every day,
55,000 unsafe abortions take place – 95% of them in developing countries. They are responsible for one in eight
maternal deaths. Globally, one unsafe
abortion takes place for every seven births.
most common cause of maternal death (WHO,
1997).
|
Unsafe Abortion: Regional Estimates
of Mortality and Risk of Death (WHO 1997) |
||
|
|
Risk of dying after unsafe abortion |
% of maternal deaths due to unsafe abortion |
|
Africa |
1
in 150 |
13% |
|
Asia |
1
in 250 |
12% |
|
Latin America |
1
in 900 |
21% |
|
Europe |
1
in 1900 |
17% |
In Ghana, the use of herbs touches all aspects
of the reproductive health of Ghanaian women too. . In pregnancy, herbs are
also used to induce labour, enhance development of foetus, and increase breast
milk production. Some uses have adverse effects on the health of the woman
(Adomako Ampofo and Yeboah, 2000).Although abortion is permitted only when a
woman's life is in danger, thousands of women each year undergo illegal--and
often dangerous-procedures to end unwanted pregnancies. Several women turn to traditional healers,
who employ herbs and other substances.
According to a study conducted in the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, an
average of three cases of complications from induced abortions are seen each
day. In about a third of all cases the women admit using herbs to induce the
abortion. (Adanu et al, 2001). As
abortion is illegal in Ghana, it is very difficult to get hard information on
its actual incidence and also the proportion of abortions carried out by
intrusive methods as opposed to herbal. Unfortunately there is very little data
available on the extent of the use of herbs among women in Ghana, the impacts
on their reproductive health.
From the initial review of literature, it
became clear that there was very little information readily available on the
relation ship between herb use and STD/HIV-AIDS and reproductive health in
Ghana, all the above studies cited are from East and southern Africa. The
further implication on the impact of the loss of these herbs, through loss of
habitat and biodiversity would have on reproductive health has not been
elucidated. It is clear therefore that work needs to be carried out on the
various inter-linkages between herbs, their availability, and the
spread/control of HIV-AIDS.
Rational
The aim of the proposed study will be to assess
the linkage between the availability of herbs and the use of herbs in two areas
of reproductive health related to HIV-AIDS transmission, i.e., the use of herbs
for contraception, termination of pregnancy and the use of herbs as vaginal
drying agents. It will also seek to compare the perception and knowledge of
herbs for reproductive health in rural and urban women with differing levels of
education and to track the transfer path of such knowledge.
This study proposes to assess the use of herbs
for reproductive health in the rural and urban settings. It will also identify
the major source of information flow among women on the use of herbs and the
factors, which influence their choice.
Operationalised
variables
The operationalised variables will include incidence
of STD/HIV-AIDS, use of herbs, type, availability, source, duration, and
frequency of use of herbs. Other variables such as demographic, education and
general health and wealth indicators will be recorded.
Subjects will be women of different ages. It is
proposed that 4 districts be selected for this study. Two rural and two urban.
The sample size will be 500 women randomly chosen from these areas. In addition
100 sex workers, herbalists and health workers will be interviwed
.
Data Sources
Both primary and secondary data will be used.
Primary information will be from interviews and focus group discussions. These
will include both structured and unstructured interviews of women, sex workers,
herbalists, and NGOs involved in reproductive health and STD/HIV-AIDS. Secondary data will be obtained from,
journals, articles and project reports as well as from the Internet and from
other documents relevant to the study.
Data Collection Method
Data will be collected by interview and
questionnaire and also from records of health workers and offices
Data Analysis approach
The results will be analysed both
quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitative method will find relationships
between the independent and dependent variables. Open-ended questions from the questionnaire
survey, results of the focus group discussions and the unstructured interviews
will be analysed qualitatively.
Work plan of
Operations
1.
Selection
of districts Nov. 2003
2.
Identifying
respondents, health institutions and NGOs Nov.
2003
3.
Design
focus group discussion schedule Dec.
2003
4.
Design
questionnaire Dec. 2003
5.
Seek
permission in districts and others Dec. 2003
6.
Identify
interviewers and focus group discussion moderatorsJan. 2004
7.
Pilot Feb. 2004
8.
Analysis
of pilot findings (modify if necessary) Feb. 2004
9.
Interviews
and focus group discussions March
-May 2004
10.
Data
analysis and transcription of interviews June & July 2004
11.
Report
writing August
& Sept. 2004
Detailed Budget
1.
Consumables
(Paper/ disks/ cartridges/ cassettes/recorders etc) $2000
2.
Interviewers
$100
x 6 people - $600
3.
Incentives
for respondents $300
4.
Incentives
for sex workers $100
5.
Incentives
for Health workers $100
6.
Transcription
of interviews $10
x @350 cassettes- - $3500
7.
Transportation
(Vehicle hire for period) $3000
8.
Data
Analysis $2000
9.
Report
writing $1500
10.
5%
contingency $655
$13755
The outputs of this research cover the two
themes of Reproductive Health Decision-Making (Traditional Medicine and Health
Seeking Behaviour) and STD/HIV-AIDS and are geared to respond to critical
issues for application in programme delivery.
The target audience for the research will be
reproductive health practitioners, STD/HIV-AIDS awareness groups, Women’s
empowerment groups and the general public.
Baleta, A. 1998 Concern voiced over
"dry sex" practices in South Africa. Lancet 352(9136): 1292
Civic, D. and Wilson, D. 1996 Dry
sex in Zimbabwe and implications for condom use. Social Science and Medicine
Volume 42(1):91-98
Dallabetta, G. et al. 1995)
Traditional vaginal agents: use and association with HIV infection in Malawian
women. AIDS 9(3):293-297
Runganga, A.O. and Kasule, J. The
vaginal use of herbs/substances: an HIV transmission facilitatory factor? AIDS
Care 7(5):639-645 (1995).
Sandala, L. et al. 1995 'Dry sex'
and HIV infection among women attending a sexually transmitted diseases clinic
in Lusaka, Zambia. AIDS 9(suppl 1): S61-S68
Sayagues, M. In Zimbabwe,
love is a hot, dry season. Weekly Mail and Guardian (October 1998).
Available online at www.sn.apc.org/wmail/issues/981002/NEWS15.html.
. van de Wijgert, J.H.H.M. et al.
2000 Intravaginal practices, vaginal flora disturbances, and acquisition of
sexually transmitted diseases in Zimbabwean women. Journal of Infectious
Diseases 181:587-94 (2000).
WHO 1997 Abortion: A Tabulation of
Available Information, 3rd edition. World Health Organization, Geneva, 1997
Adanu, R, Tweneboah, E and Ntumy M, 2001. Reasons, emotions and fears concerning abortions in Accra. In print
Adomako Ampofo, A and Yeboah, S 2001. Baseline Survey of reproductive health needs among some communities in Ghana
3.
Title of
project: CHANGING THE CULTURE: COASTAL WOMEN AND ENVIRONMENTAL VALUES IN GHANA
PROJECT GOALS AND RATIONALE
The world’s
coast lines are sagging under the onslaught of humanity. Already nearly two-thirds of the world’s
population live along the coastline. As
a result of their functions as some of the most productive ecosystems, coastal
zones are extremely important. The coastal
zone is defined in the Ghana Environmental Action Plan (GEAP) as the band of
dry land and adjacent ocean space (water and submerged land), in which land
ecology directly affects the ocean space ecology and vice versa. The coastal zone of Ghana is 550 km along
the Gulf of Guinea from east to west and the offshore zone is about 26,000km2. It is a source of livelihood and leisure
activities for the local population.
Benefits derived from the coastal zone of Ghana also include salt
collection, mineral resources, and oil exploration. Among the ecosystems found along the coast are mangroves, estuaries, lagoons, beaches,
mudflats, sand flats, and sea grass systems. These systems have a variety of
recognised roles in the areas where they occur. Primarily, they provide physical habitats and breeding grounds
for a variety of important coastal species such as waterfowl, crabs, shrimps,
and the juvenile stages of commercial fishes. Marine turtles [such as the
Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea),
the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea)
and the green turtles (Chelonia mydas.)]
also occur along the coastal zone of Ghana, along with numerous forage species
of fish and invertebrates.
The
problem of pollution and environmental degradation along the coast of Ghana has
in the recent past become a major problem to environmentalists and economic
planners in the country. In
1988, the Government of Ghana put environmental issues on the priority agenda
with the aim of ensuring sound environmental policies. This resulted in the production of Ghana’s
National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP).
Environmental degradation of coastal areas, poor sanitation and poverty
were identified as key issues in Ghana's Environmental Action Plan. Whilst there have been calls to solve Ghana’s environmental problems
from a gender perspective, women in Ghana tend to receive only passing comments
(if any at all) in the nation's environmental literature; they are hardly ever
the subject of a more analytical focus.
To date, there have been relatively few studies examining the broader
issue of women and the environment in Ghana.
This is despite the fact that since the early 1980s significant
awareness has been created worldwide with respect to the relationship between
women and the environment. These
efforts were instrumental in establishing the Women's Action Agenda 21,
elaborated in the run-up of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and
Development. It has been argued that
women (especially in developing countries) are the most sensitive to changes in
their environment since they are in closest contact with the home and
land.
Truly,
the many activities women in Ghana are involved in as they fulfil their society
assigned roles are not only essential in the survival of the family but bring
them in close contact with the biophysical environment. Women in Ghana, as in other parts of Africa,
are the primary resource managers, especially in rural areas. Their daily economic and nurturing
activities as farmers are responsible for some 70 per cent of national food
crop output, quite apart from their roles as household managers and
educators. But some cultural practices
have tended to place them at a disadvantage.
Whilst
there are no laws in Ghana discriminating against women's involvement in
socio-economic development, there are numerous areas where discriminatory
practices exist as a consequence of the conditions of women's work, cultural
beliefs and attitudes, value systems and behavioural norms. Such practices give men greater leverage in
education and training (and therefore higher educational attainment and
status), and greater political and decision-making power - thereby perpetuating
women's inferior status. Often marginalized in decision-making, women have not
been empowered to incorporate sound environmental management practices into
their activities.
There
is the need to address the social and cultural conditions (not just economic)
that lead to environmental degradation. Since women are responsible for the
management of many natural resources, for the disposal of domestic waste and
environmental sanitation, it is essential that they are actively involved at
all stages of environmental management in Ghana. There is also the need to sensitize the population in order to
change the negative cultural perceptions and stereotyping of women, and to
empower women to play leadership roles in promoting sound environmental
management. However to do this the type
of value women place on the natural resources around them needs to be
assessed. It is also important to
examine whether more positive environmental values can be identified amongst
the women of Ghana -- and whether such values can then be encouraged within a
culturally appropriate, sustainable and socially equitable policy
framework.
There
have been modest gains in creating awareness about Ghana's pervasive environmental
problems through various policy initiatives, inter-sectoral and inter-agency
collaboration. But much more can be done to if women are empowered to play
leadership roles in promoting sound environmental management. The success of Ghana meeting the ideals and
goals of Agenda 21will depend to a large extent on the contribution of women.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
The aim of this research is to identify the many roles women in Ghana play in environmental conservation and to shed greater light on the more general subject of their values. It further aims at influencing policy makers' thinking on environmental policy by pointing to the underlying factors - cultural backgrounds, types of community organization, and individual attitude of the environment -- that shape policy choices.
These will be achieved through the following objectives:
Furthermore,
this project will involve an investigation of dialog and discourse among
individuals, conceptions of environmental justice, effects of policy on social
and cultural traditions or values, and the manner in which environmental
education and ethics are presented within developing countries. It will also seek to bring out the views of
the women on global environmental issues such as global climate change, also
known as global warming.
WORKPLAN
The project duration is one year.
Data collection will be based on interview and observation. Both primary and secondary information will
be used. These will include interviews,
tape recordings, visual images, written documents and other reference
material. The results will be analysed
both quantitatively and qualitatively.