Leading Member of ASOLI Edmund Kanmiki Shares Research at International Population Conference
Edmund W. Kanmiki, A lead member of the Alliance for Social-Innovation and Livelihood Improvement (ASOLI) participated and presented two of his research papers at this this year’s Population Association of America (PAA) Conference held between May 6-9 2021
One of his presentations titled “Migrant Adolescent Female Head Porter’s Experience of Out-of-Pocket Healthcare Payments and Impoverishment in Ghana” was implemented collaboratively with Dr Kennedy A. Alatinga and Dr Gilbert A. Abiiro of the S. D Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies. The study examined the incidence of out-of-pocket payments for healthcare and impoverishment among young migrant female head porters in Ghana’s cities of Accra and Kumasi. The study shows that as high as 89% of these vulnerable migrants, mostly of northern Ghana descent, paid out-of- pocket for healthcare, which increased poverty incidence from 23% prepayment to 76% post payment. Among study recommendations was a call on the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and the Ministry of Health to enrol this vulnerable population onto the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to increase their access to healthcare services. The study also recommended that the girls should also be supported to acquire skills in the formal and informal sectors for improved livelihoods and healthcare access. This study was funded by the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA).
Mr. Kanmiki’s second presentation at the conference was titled “Understanding Contraceptive Use, Method Failure and Discontinuation among Adolescents and Young Women in Poor Urban Settlements of Accra, Ghana”. This study assessed the use of contraceptives among adolescents and young women in poor urban settlements of Ghana’s capital city with a goal to contribute towards providing relevant evidence to help address Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) needs of urban youth particularly those resident in poor neighbourhoods. The study found that about 70% of adolescents and young adults aged 16-24 years were sexually active but only 59% of them currently used contraceptives to prevent pregnancy/or STDs. Among users, 43% used non-modern contraceptive methods like calendar or rhythm, withdrawal and Lactation Amenorrhea Method (LAM). Age, parity and wealth index were found to influence the use of contraceptives among study participants. Also, 6.8% of contraceptive use among the study participants failed to protect against unwanted pregnancies while 72.6% of contraceptive method used was discontinued within 12 months. The study recommended the deployment of targeted interventions that promote dialogue to improve understanding of the safety of modern contraceptive methods that can contribute to improving the use of modern contraception among sexually active adolescents and young adults. This study was implemented in collaboration with Professor Ayaga Bawah, Dr Patrick Asuming and Ceasar Agula, all of the University of Ghana and Professor Iqbal Shah and Dr Elizabeth G. Henry of the Harvard T.H School of Public Health.
Mr. Kanmiki is a co-founder of ASOLI and currently a PhD Fellow at the Institute for Social Science Research of the University of Queensland. The Population Association of America Conference is one of the largest meetings of population science scholars around the world and Edmund’s presentations are part of ASOLI’s strategic goals of contributing to research evidence generation and dissemination for systems strengthening and livelihood improvement.
