Beyond the Cedis: Migration and Reproductive health among female potters in Accra

Abstract

The study presents the working and living conditions that female migrants who migrate from the north to the southern part of the Ghana are going through at their destinations in the commercial cities and how it impacts on their reproductive health. Female porters popularly known as "kayayei" are young girls, mostly in their reproductive ages who migrate from rural communities in the north to the commercial cities in south. During the last few decades, out-migration of young girls to the commercial cities in Ghana to work as head porters has increased several fold creating streams of problems to both the migrants and the host population. In many ways the health implication of the female porters has been overlooked, less explored and exacerbated by lack of policies to make the migration of the female porters a healthy and socially productive process. The study utilizes both primary and secondary data. Primary data were obtained through questionnaire administration, direct observation and key informant interviews. 400 questionnaires were administered purposively to 400 female porters while the secondary data were obtained from review of related literature. Data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics. Results revealed that the porters have no shelter and are exposed to rapists; it also found out that some porters exchange sex for shelter which exposed them to STDs. The study also revealed that abortion rate among respondents were high, contraceptives use and practice among respondents were very low.