As the urban population of Ghana grew, so did the number of people who live in slums in Ghana. The country’s urban community has grown from approximately 36.4% in 1990 to approximately 56.7% in 2019, making it one of the most urbanized countries in Africa. After Ghana’s independence in 1957, its urban population grew because many people moved from rural communities to urban regions.
In 2014, according to the World Bank approximately 37.4% of people who live in Ghana’s urban regions lived in slums. With approximately 5.5 million people living in slums in Ghana, non-government organizations are working in the community to help address some of the problems that the people face such as sanitation and evictions from the government.
A slum is defined by the UN as “a contiguous settlement where the inhabitants are characterized as having inadequate housing and basic service.”
Ghana’s Housing Crisis
Housing in Ghana can be unaffordable to the “urban poor” because the cost of both land and building materials can be too expensive for people to invest in affordable housing. As young people move into the city to look for jobs and other opportunities, they end up moving to informal settlements because living in formal settlements may be too expensive. In addition, the government has been slow to respond to the growing need for housing in Ghana. However, in 2015 the government created a new National Housing Policy to address Ghana’s housing needs.
Government Perspective on Slums
Old Fadama, one of the largest slums in Accra, is nicknamed by the Ghanaian government and some members of the public, as “Sodom and Gomorrah.” These two biblical cities were destroyed due to their sinful actions. To the people of Old Fadama, the nickname is hurtful because they see it as the government painting a doomed picture of the city to justify evictions. The image also ignores the fact that many people have made a living there. Some residents have recycled electronic waste to make a living. Local organizations, like the Slum Union of Ghana and its international partners such as the Slum Dwellers International, continuously advocate against evictions.
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Evictions Faced by Slum Dwellers
Slums, like Akwatia line and Old Fadama in Ghana, are prone to evictions because of the location they are built-in. During evictions, the government often does not provide people living in the slums with alternative housing. In April of 2020, the government ordered the demolition of houses in Old Fadama, one of the oldest slums in Ghana. Approximately 1,000 people were evicted. The reason for the demolition, according to local news sources, was to remove sediment from the lagoon to reduce the risk of flooding.
This is not the first time demolitions have happened. Demolitions between 2003 and 2006 left more than 7,000 people without homes. The demolition that took place this year received criticism because it occurred during COVID-19 when people were asked to stay at home and practice social distancing. Amnesty International has condemned the government for its actions. The treat of demolition makes it difficult for people who live in slums to invest in the places that they live because they may be evicted.
Sanitation Challenges
Another major problem that slums in Ghana face is the lack of adequate sanitation. The lack of adequate sanitation increases the risk of getting diarrhea and diseases like cholera. Many people who live in slums do not have a bathroom in their place of residence, so they often depend on using public bathrooms. The lack of private or individual restrooms in Ghana does not end with slums. Places of residence and schools can be built without restrooms.
To solve this problem, groups such as the Media Coalition on Open Defecation in Ghana are advocating that the government work toward limiting the number of public defecations. Although the lack of private bathrooms impacts a community negatively, the need for restrooms has provided entrepreneurs with new business ventures because they can charge money for the use of public bathrooms. According to Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) the use of public toilets has become part of the culture in Ghana. Currently, 60% of households in slums use public toilets.
To solve the problem of limited bathrooms in the slum community, WSUP works with Ghana’s Ministry of education to provide schools with “toilet blocks.” Furthermore, one of the innovative ways that the organization has helped is by building toilets that are not connected to sewer systems. These toilets store human waste in cartridges that are taken to a waste treatment facility by a clean team whose job is to then send the waste to a plant and replace the cartridge. The clean team is paid a monthly fee to remove the waste. The toilets can be placed in residential areas where some people may find it difficult to access a public restroom.
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Facts about Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) Slum
The Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum is situated in almost the central part of Accra and a settlement for the urban poor. This slum lies in the Korle Lagoon and on the shores of the Odaw River. The occupants of the Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum in Ghana are from different parts of the country and neighboring countries in West Africa and may not be in a position to afford uptown accommodation. The Old Fadama and Agbogbloshie are two separate components of the slum area on Accra with residential and commercial development.
Majority of people living in Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum work in the low town business centers of Accra surviving on what they make per day. The establishment of this slum area started in 1981 but over time the population is grown with over 80000 inhabitants living on about 31.3 hectares of land
For some time the Accra Municipal Authority has tried to evict the people living in the Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum but their plight has been defended by organizations like the Ghana Federations of The Urban Poor (GHAFUP) or Old Fadama Development Association (OFADA)
For over a decade, the people living in the Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum have been under the threat of being evicted from this slummy area in the name of wanting to develop it. At first about 100 feet of and were to be cleared but with the organizations like Ghana Federations of The Urban Poor (GHAFUP) or Old Fadama Development Association (OFADA), they entered into negotiations with Accra Municipal Authority to reduce this on this area. They had a view that more than about 3000 structures were to be demolished leaving a number of people homeless
With the help of these bodies, the people of Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum managed to negotiate with Accra Municipal Authority and the area of those to be evicted was reduced to about 50 feet. This meant that those to be affected by this development were to be less than the anticipated number for then.
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OLD FADAMA FIRE OUTBREAK RESIDENTS READY FOR GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
Visiting Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) Slum
The security of most slum areas world over is quite challenging because of the different people with different characters and behaviors that are residents of these places and so The Old Fadama is no exception. Note that when filming in this slum you may encounter people taking unlawful substances, the level of crime rate including theft is high too and security is highly recommended on shoot.
The health facilities and conditions in this slum are poor and so are the walkways you use to get from one location to another. During the tour in Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum, carry some protective gears like a mask, gloves case you are to traverse the entire slum or conduct community service.
The Tour in Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum is quite challenging because of the arrangement of the houses in this area. Most of the accommodations in this slum were made without an approved building Plan from the Accra Municipal Authority and so they are out of the city plan but you need to report to their leaders first.
For you to get accurate information about the life in Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum, you need to befriend the local and try to fit in their life especially if you are on research. Note that health facilities and sanitary facilities are in a dilapidated state so be ready for this. When you visit Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum during the wet season, be ready to face some food because the water channels are blocked by garbage.
People of Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum are humans whose life is influenced by challenges of life but by paying a visit to them, it’s a way to encourage them to work harder in order to change their fate.
The more people visit the Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum and write about it, the more exposure it gets which trigger some well wishers to support the projects of this community. Visiting Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum during a visit to Ghana gives you the opportunity to learn about how different people navigate through life.
The presence of Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum, is the true definition of how the urban poor live there lives amidst challenges of life. The Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum has bodies like Ghana Federations of The Urban Poor (GHAFUP) or Old Fadama Development Association (OFADA) that can negotiate on behalf of the members so that they are not unfairly treated which gives them the power. Leaders from other communities in a similar state can pick a leaf from this organized community
The best time to visit Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum, is the dry season when the water from the streams is controlled within the channels. Even though this slum is open all year, the dry season is most preferred that is June to Octobers and December to early February.
The Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum gets messy in the wet season which is normally March to May where the rain intensify yet there is less sunlight to dry up the ground. The slum may have no defined plan but with the assistance of the leaders, you can accomplish your goal of visiting it. For all seasons, ensure you wear the right gear canvas, and waterproof boots and carry own drinking water because such services may not be available in this slum.
Do not shy away from visiting the sum in the wet season because this gives you firsthand information on the life of the people of Old Fadama (Agbogbloshie) slum in all seasons.
New Slums and Informal Settlements Thematic Report
The new Slums and Informal Settlements Thematic Report by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) offers the clearest national picture yet of slum conditions and informal settlements across Ghana’s urban areas. Based on data from the 2021 Population and Housing Census, the report provides evidence to support better urban planning and service delivery. It defines “urban” localities not just by population size but also by access to basic infrastructure such as electricity, water, schools, and health facilities.
Titled The Slums and Informal Settlements Report, the publication highlights widespread issues with housing, poor urban planning, and limited infrastructure in many Ghanaian communities. The report found notable regional disparities in slum conditions. The Greater Accra Region recorded the highest proportion of slum dwellers in rented spaces at 52.5%, followed by the Ashanti Region at 51.8%.
Despite Ghana’s rapid population growth and increased internal migration, the GSS report revealed that only 10% of localities across the country are formally classified as urban, even though slum conditions persist in many areas. With nearly one-third of Ghana’s population living in informal settlements, the GSS is urging swift, data-driven action to bridge the country’s urban inequality gap.
Bayesian Spatial Modelling Framework
In this study, we developed and applied a Bayesian spatial modelling framework for identifying deprived “slum” areas (generally referred to as deprived areas hereafter) and their social and environmental features for the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA). Our study makes both practical and methodological contributions to existing slum identification studies. We uniquely integrate publicly available census and remote sensing data to capture a range of social and physical features of homes and neighbourhoods, and extend the existing geographic coverage of deprived ‘slum’ area identification for Accra Metropolitan Area (AMA) to the rapidly growing suburban regions that surround it.
Our approach using ubiquitously available administrative and satellite data can be used to identify deprived neighbourhoods where interventions are warranted to improve living conditions, and track progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals aiming to reduce the population living in unsafe or vulnerable human settlements.
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