Author: Vincent Amedzake

The reality of climate-induced displacement in West Africa continues to reveal far-reaching consequences for individuals, households and entire communities. Its outcomes cut across loss of livelihoods, insecurity, health risks and disrupted social fabrics and sometimes the ultimate price of death. For policymakers, governments, international organisations and researchers, the issue has become a pressing concern because of the scale of displacement, its complexity and the disproportionate impacts it has on vulnerable groups.

There are moments when global crises do not simply overlap, but converge in ways that create complex, cascading threats. These convergences often become matters of survival, justice, and human security, affecting the social fabric of entire communities. In such moments, the most vulnerable bear the heaviest burden. In West Africa, women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals continue to face this compounded reality at the intersection of climate change, forced displacement, and entrenched gender inequalities. On 18 July 2025, a high-level regional webinar will bring scholars, policymakers, and humanitarian actors together to examine these intersecting challenges. The event, titled “Intersecting Crises: Gender,…

A long-standing call from Ghana’s academic and research communities for a dedicated, well-structured fund to support science, innovation, and development finally materialised with the establishment of the Ghana National Research Fund (GNRF). For decades, scholars, research institutions, and higher education advocates have urged successive governments to commit to a national research financing model that would empower Ghanaian researchers to generate home-grown solutions and compete on the global stage. That call was answered with the passage of Act 1056 by Parliament, which legally established the Ghana National Research Fund as a corporate body with the mandate to promote, support, and finance…

It is not every day that the Provost of one of the world’s top universities steps into your backyard to talk about innovation. But that is exactly what happened when Professor Ian Walmsley, CBE FRS, Provost of Imperial College London, visited the University of Ghana to deliver a lecture on how universities can serve as engines of development by turning research into impact. The event, which formed part of the 2025 Vice-Chancellor’s Occasional Lecture Series, brought together faculty, students, researchers, industry leaders and development partners to explore what it truly means for a university to be useful to society. In…

For many professionals today, their younger selves had different dreams and aspirations, but the exigencies of life have a way of steering people toward more impactful professions. These professions, they later discover, are a direct call to achieve one’s purpose, perhaps even to fulfill one’s destiny. The University of Ghana’s Dr. Naa Adzoa Adzeley Boi-Dsane has one such story. As a Medical Doctor, researcher and advocate for inclusion, she now leads a life dedicated to saving lives in the hospital, contributing to knowledge in the fields of medicine and science and most importantly, empowering persons with hearing impairment to learn,…

Efforts to close the global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) diagnostics gap have received a major boost with the advancement of plans for a new global consortium, following a high-level convening of international partners in Accra, Ghana. Antimicrobial resistance is now recognised as one of the most pressing public health threats of the 21st century. Infections that were once easily treated with antibiotics are increasingly becoming resistant, resulting in prolonged illness, higher healthcare costs, and greater risks of death. A central challenge is the lack of affordable and accessible diagnostics to quickly and accurately identify resistant infections. Without reliable diagnostics, health practitioners…

Cash in Africa has long been more than a convenience since it is a necessity, a tool of survival, and a symbol of inclusion in economies where formal financial structures often fall short. Despite decades of policy reforms and an accelerating wave of digital innovation, the continent remains rooted in a complex mix of cash dependency and growing digital experimentation. In recent years, African nations have embraced various forms of digital payment systems, mobile money, electronic wallets, and contactless transfers, aimed at deepening financial inclusion and enhancing economic participation. These innovations have seen considerable success. In East Africa, mobile money…

Forced to leave their homes, many displaced people in Ghana now face a different kind of struggle economic survival. Without stable jobs or financial assistance from their families, both refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) find themselves trapped in a cycle of hardship, unable to secure a better future. The lack of employment and economic support is pushing many into distress, limiting their access to basic needs and forcing them into precarious living conditions. “We don’t have employment, and we don’t have support from home,” one IDP lamented, a sentiment echoed by many others interviewed in a study led by…

The 2024 general elections in Ghana were as eventful as they were historic. From the eventual outcome of John Dramani Mahama being elected for a second return to the presidency to Ghana getting its first female vice president-elect, the list is endless. But beyond the many reports on screen, online, and on-air lies a beautiful untold story. I believe I speak for many colleagues or colleague journalists when I say that covering Election 2024 was not merely a test of professionalism but a testament to the power of collaboration over competition. Let me start by saying that covering an election…

A recent study has revealed worrying gender disparities among forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) in Ghana, highlighting the heightened vulnerabilities of women and girls. The research, led by Prof. Mary B. Setrana, IDRC Research Chair on Forced Displacement in Anglophone West Africa and Director of the Centre of Migration Studies based at the University of Ghana and her team, details the economic struggles, security risks, and social barriers facing displaced women. The study, which surveyed 493 displaced persons, found that young females are the most vulnerable to gender-based violence (GBV), with 48% of respondents identifying them as at risk. Another 13%…