5 - Covid-19 Border Policing in Ghana and its Impact on Trans-border Migration and Healthcare in West Africa
Corresponding Author(s) : Samuel Adu-Gyamfi
Africa Development,
Vol. 48 No. 4 (2023): Africa Development
Abstract
The discourses and practices surrounding migration and health have taken a dramatic turn since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Experts are more concerned about the consequences of the pandemic on these factors in Africa, given the continent’s weak economies and poor health sector, which portends a difficult post-pandemic recovery. However, the discussions have not engaged with two key effects of the coronavirus: the health implications not only on the general populace but also along border towns, and the dilemma of a ‘new’ (il)legal migration. Drawing on Ghana’s border policing as a Covid-19 pandemic governance strategy, coupled with existing debates on health, politics, migration and development, we argue that border policing is likely to create two emerging threats. First, it could cause a ‘new’ health dilemma – hindering long-standing cross-border healthcare access by ECOWAS citizens. Second, sustained border restrictions could deepen the intricacies of migration in West Africa, including the promotion of ‘elite migrants’ over migrants who are seeking a basic livelihood, the changing fate of undocumented migrants, new security threats at border town , and a possible redefinition of traditional rural–urban migration in Africa.
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- Aduhene, D. T., and Osei-Assibey, E., 2021, 'Socio-economic Impact of Covid-19 on Ghana’s Economy: Challenges and Prospects', International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 543–556. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-08-2020-0582. Accessed 16 June 2021.
- Africa Check, 2020, 'Melinda Gates said she feared coronavirus in Africa would lead to dead being put out in street, as in Ecuador', Africa Check, 20 April. https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/melinda-gates-said-she-feared-coronavirus-africa-would-lead-dead-being-put-out. Accessed 9 June 2021.
- Amat, F., Arenas, A., Falcó-Gimeno, A., and Muñoz, J., 2020, 'Pandemics meet democracy. Experimental evidence from the Covid-19 crisis in Spain' SocArxiv Papers https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/dkusw/ Accessed 1 June 2023.
- Asante, L. A., and Mills, R. O., 2020, 'Exploring the Socio-Economic Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic in Marketplaces in Urban Ghana', Africa Spectrum, Vol. 55, No. 2, pp. 170–181. https://10.1177/0002039720943612. Accessed 15 June 2021.
- Awoonor-Williams, J. K., Moyer, C. A., and Adokiya, M. N., 2021, 'Self-reported challenges to border screening of travelers for Ebola by district health workers in northern Ghana: An observational study', Plos One, Vol. 16, No. 1, e0245039.
- Bwire, G., Ario, A. R., Eyu, P., Ocom, F., Wamala, J. F., Kusi, K. A., and Talisuna, A. O., 2022, 'The Covid-19 pandemic in the African continent', BMC medicine, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 1–23.
- Citi News Room, 2020, 'Coronavirus: over 40 Ghanaians, foreigners caught trying to enter Ghana illegally', Send West Africa, 24 June. https://www.sendwestafrica.org/nu/blog/coronavirus-over-40-ghanaians-foreigners-caught-trying-to-enter-ghana-illegally/. Accessed 15 June 2021.
- Cohen, N. J., 2016, 'Travel and border health measures to prevent the international spread of Ebola', MMWR supplements, No. 65.
- ECOWAS, 2019, 40 years of free movement in ECOWAS. https://www.ecowas.int/40-years-of-free-movement-in-ecowas/. Accessed 24 June 2021.
- Griffiths, I., 1986, The scramble for Africa: Inherited political boundaries, The Geographical Journal, Vol. 152, No. 2, pp. 204–216.
- Heath, E., 2010, 'Berlin Conference of 1884–1885', in Gates, H. L. and Appiah, K. A. eds., Oxford Encyclopaedia of Africa, Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195337709.001.0001/acref-9780195337709-e-0467. Accessed 20 June 2021.
- Horton R., 2019, 'Offline: the mistakes we made over Ebola', The Lancet, Vol. 395(10208). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31657728/. Accessed 19 June 2021.
- International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2018, IOM Supports Ebola Prevention Measures across East Africa, Enhances Response in DR Congo, IOM, 10 December. https://www.iom.int/news/iom-supports-ebola-prevention- measures-across-east-africa-enhances-response-dr-congo. Accessed 10 June 2021. Joseph, H. A., Wojno, A. E., Winter, K., Grady-Erickson, O., Hawes, E., Benenson,
- G. A., and Cetron, M., 2019, 'The Check and Report Ebola (CARE+) program to monitor travelers for Ebola after arrival to the United States, 2014–2016', Public Health Reports, Vol. 134, No. 6, pp. 592–598.
- Kilberg, R., 2014, 'Building Borders around Ebola', Migration Policy, 16 December, https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/building-borders-around-ebola. Accessed 11 June 2021.
- Kuwonu, F., 2017, 'Public health schemes: Getting it right: Ghana grapples with making health care universally accessible', Africa Renewal, December 2016– March 2017. https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/december-2016-march-2017/public-health-schemes-getting-it-right. Accessed 24 June 2021.
- Lartey, N. L., 2020, 'Covid-19 Lockdown: Government announces free food for over 400,000 Ghanaians', Citi Newsroom, 6 April. https://citinewsroom.com/2020/04/covid-19-lockdown-governmentannounces-free-food-for-over-400000-ghanaians/ Accessed 10 June 2021.
- MacKenzie, J. M., 2016, 'Partition of Africa', in The Encyclopedia of Empire, pp. 1–8. John Wiley & Sons.
- Modern Ghana, 2021, Ghana entry points. https://www.modernghana.com/ ghanahome/ghana/entry_points.asp. Accessed 24 June 24 2021.
- Nkansah, M. A., 2020, 'Case Study, Ghana’s Multifarious Response to Covid-19: Through a Citizen’s Lens', International Network for Government Science Advice, 3 June. https://www.ingsa.org/covidtag/covid-19-commentary/asantewah-nkansah-ghana/. Accessed 17 May 2021.
- Nyarko, R. K., 2020, 'Hawa Koomson Urges Market Women, Traders to Own Handwashing Campaign', My Joy Online, 24 March. https://www.myjoyonline.com/hawa-koomson-urges-market-women-traders-to-own-handwashing-campaign/ Accessed 24 May 2021.
- Olu, O. O., Lako, R., Wamala, J. F., Ramadan, P. O., Ryan, C., Udenweze, I., ...and Chimbaru, A., 2020, 'What did we learn from preparing for cross-border transmission of Ebola virus disease into a complex humanitarian setting – The Republic of South Sudan?' Infectious diseases of poverty, Vol. 9, pp. 1–7.
- Osabuohien, E., Odularu, G., Ufua, D., and Osabohien, R., 2022, Covid-19 in the African Continent: Sustainable Development and Socioeconomic Shocks, Bingley: Emerald Publishers Limited. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-686-620221002
- Osabuohien, E., Odularu, G., Ufua, D., and Osabohien, R., 2023, Socioeconomic Shocks and Africa’s Development Agenda: Lessons and Policy Directions in a Post-Covid-19
- Era, New York: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003208358
- Otu, A., Ebenso, B., Labonte, R., and Yaya, S., 2020, 'Tackling Covid-19: can the African continent play the long game?' Journal of Global Health, Vol. 10, No. 1. Page, J. D., n.d., Ghana, https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana. Accessed 28 June 2021.
- Potgieter, T., 2022, 'Dealing with Diverse Challenges on the African Continent: Covid-19 and Beyond', Africa Journal of Public Sector Development and Governance, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 5–42.
- Quakyi, N. K., Agyemang Asante, N. A., Nartey, Y. A., Bediako, Y., and Sam-Agudu, N. A., 2021, 'Covid-19 Response: The Black Star can do Even Better', BMJ Global Health, Vol. 6, e005569. https://doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005569. Accessed 26 June 2021.
- Reissig, J., 2020, International Migrants Day 2020: IOM invites to reimagine human mobility together. https://ghana.un.org/en/107535-international-migrants-day- 2020-iom-invites-reimagine-human-mobility-together
- Roos, R., 2014, 'Migrations in Africa seen as a challenge to stopping Ebola', CIDRAP News. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/ebola/migrations-west-africa-seen-challenge-stopping-ebola Accessed 3 June 2023.
- Sibiri, H., Prah, D., and Zankawah, S.M., 2021, 'Containing the Impact of Covid-19: Review of Ghana’s Response Approach', Health Policy and Technology, Vol. 10,
- pp. 13–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2020.10.015. Accessed 24 June 2021.
- Sullivan, J., 1998, 'Reaching Migrants across Borders in West Africa', AIDSlink: Eastern, Central and Southern Africa, Vol. 49, No. 11.
- Teye, A., 2019, Migrants’ and Non-Migrants’ Access and Use of Health Care in Ghana, PhD dissertation, University of Ghana.
- UNICEF, 2020, UNICEF Ghana: Covid-19 Situation Report# 3. UN Children’s Fund. https://reliefweb.int/report/ghana/unicef-ghana-covid-19-situation-report-3-1st-15th-may-2020. Accessed 1 June 2021.
- United Nations Development Group (UNDG), 2015, Socio-Economic Impact of Ebola Virus Disease in West African Countries: A call for national and regional containment, recovery and prevention. https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/migration/africa/ebola-west-africa.pdf
- World Bank, 2020, 'Covid-19 (Coronavirus) Drives Sub-Saharan Africa Toward First Recession in 25 Years', World Bank, 9 April. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/04/09/covid-…virus-drives-sub-saharan-africa-toward-first-recession-in-25-years. Accessed 24 June 2021.
- Yen aw, E., 2022, Cross-border migration of itinerant immigrant retailers in Ghana, Journal of International Migration and Integration, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 205–225.
References
Aduhene, D. T., and Osei-Assibey, E., 2021, 'Socio-economic Impact of Covid-19 on Ghana’s Economy: Challenges and Prospects', International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 543–556. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-08-2020-0582. Accessed 16 June 2021.
Africa Check, 2020, 'Melinda Gates said she feared coronavirus in Africa would lead to dead being put out in street, as in Ecuador', Africa Check, 20 April. https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/melinda-gates-said-she-feared-coronavirus-africa-would-lead-dead-being-put-out. Accessed 9 June 2021.
Amat, F., Arenas, A., Falcó-Gimeno, A., and Muñoz, J., 2020, 'Pandemics meet democracy. Experimental evidence from the Covid-19 crisis in Spain' SocArxiv Papers https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/dkusw/ Accessed 1 June 2023.
Asante, L. A., and Mills, R. O., 2020, 'Exploring the Socio-Economic Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic in Marketplaces in Urban Ghana', Africa Spectrum, Vol. 55, No. 2, pp. 170–181. https://10.1177/0002039720943612. Accessed 15 June 2021.
Awoonor-Williams, J. K., Moyer, C. A., and Adokiya, M. N., 2021, 'Self-reported challenges to border screening of travelers for Ebola by district health workers in northern Ghana: An observational study', Plos One, Vol. 16, No. 1, e0245039.
Bwire, G., Ario, A. R., Eyu, P., Ocom, F., Wamala, J. F., Kusi, K. A., and Talisuna, A. O., 2022, 'The Covid-19 pandemic in the African continent', BMC medicine, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 1–23.
Citi News Room, 2020, 'Coronavirus: over 40 Ghanaians, foreigners caught trying to enter Ghana illegally', Send West Africa, 24 June. https://www.sendwestafrica.org/nu/blog/coronavirus-over-40-ghanaians-foreigners-caught-trying-to-enter-ghana-illegally/. Accessed 15 June 2021.
Cohen, N. J., 2016, 'Travel and border health measures to prevent the international spread of Ebola', MMWR supplements, No. 65.
ECOWAS, 2019, 40 years of free movement in ECOWAS. https://www.ecowas.int/40-years-of-free-movement-in-ecowas/. Accessed 24 June 2021.
Griffiths, I., 1986, The scramble for Africa: Inherited political boundaries, The Geographical Journal, Vol. 152, No. 2, pp. 204–216.
Heath, E., 2010, 'Berlin Conference of 1884–1885', in Gates, H. L. and Appiah, K. A. eds., Oxford Encyclopaedia of Africa, Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195337709.001.0001/acref-9780195337709-e-0467. Accessed 20 June 2021.
Horton R., 2019, 'Offline: the mistakes we made over Ebola', The Lancet, Vol. 395(10208). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31657728/. Accessed 19 June 2021.
International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2018, IOM Supports Ebola Prevention Measures across East Africa, Enhances Response in DR Congo, IOM, 10 December. https://www.iom.int/news/iom-supports-ebola-prevention- measures-across-east-africa-enhances-response-dr-congo. Accessed 10 June 2021. Joseph, H. A., Wojno, A. E., Winter, K., Grady-Erickson, O., Hawes, E., Benenson,
G. A., and Cetron, M., 2019, 'The Check and Report Ebola (CARE+) program to monitor travelers for Ebola after arrival to the United States, 2014–2016', Public Health Reports, Vol. 134, No. 6, pp. 592–598.
Kilberg, R., 2014, 'Building Borders around Ebola', Migration Policy, 16 December, https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/building-borders-around-ebola. Accessed 11 June 2021.
Kuwonu, F., 2017, 'Public health schemes: Getting it right: Ghana grapples with making health care universally accessible', Africa Renewal, December 2016– March 2017. https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/december-2016-march-2017/public-health-schemes-getting-it-right. Accessed 24 June 2021.
Lartey, N. L., 2020, 'Covid-19 Lockdown: Government announces free food for over 400,000 Ghanaians', Citi Newsroom, 6 April. https://citinewsroom.com/2020/04/covid-19-lockdown-governmentannounces-free-food-for-over-400000-ghanaians/ Accessed 10 June 2021.
MacKenzie, J. M., 2016, 'Partition of Africa', in The Encyclopedia of Empire, pp. 1–8. John Wiley & Sons.
Modern Ghana, 2021, Ghana entry points. https://www.modernghana.com/ ghanahome/ghana/entry_points.asp. Accessed 24 June 24 2021.
Nkansah, M. A., 2020, 'Case Study, Ghana’s Multifarious Response to Covid-19: Through a Citizen’s Lens', International Network for Government Science Advice, 3 June. https://www.ingsa.org/covidtag/covid-19-commentary/asantewah-nkansah-ghana/. Accessed 17 May 2021.
Nyarko, R. K., 2020, 'Hawa Koomson Urges Market Women, Traders to Own Handwashing Campaign', My Joy Online, 24 March. https://www.myjoyonline.com/hawa-koomson-urges-market-women-traders-to-own-handwashing-campaign/ Accessed 24 May 2021.
Olu, O. O., Lako, R., Wamala, J. F., Ramadan, P. O., Ryan, C., Udenweze, I., ...and Chimbaru, A., 2020, 'What did we learn from preparing for cross-border transmission of Ebola virus disease into a complex humanitarian setting – The Republic of South Sudan?' Infectious diseases of poverty, Vol. 9, pp. 1–7.
Osabuohien, E., Odularu, G., Ufua, D., and Osabohien, R., 2022, Covid-19 in the African Continent: Sustainable Development and Socioeconomic Shocks, Bingley: Emerald Publishers Limited. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-686-620221002
Osabuohien, E., Odularu, G., Ufua, D., and Osabohien, R., 2023, Socioeconomic Shocks and Africa’s Development Agenda: Lessons and Policy Directions in a Post-Covid-19
Era, New York: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003208358
Otu, A., Ebenso, B., Labonte, R., and Yaya, S., 2020, 'Tackling Covid-19: can the African continent play the long game?' Journal of Global Health, Vol. 10, No. 1. Page, J. D., n.d., Ghana, https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana. Accessed 28 June 2021.
Potgieter, T., 2022, 'Dealing with Diverse Challenges on the African Continent: Covid-19 and Beyond', Africa Journal of Public Sector Development and Governance, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 5–42.
Quakyi, N. K., Agyemang Asante, N. A., Nartey, Y. A., Bediako, Y., and Sam-Agudu, N. A., 2021, 'Covid-19 Response: The Black Star can do Even Better', BMJ Global Health, Vol. 6, e005569. https://doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005569. Accessed 26 June 2021.
Reissig, J., 2020, International Migrants Day 2020: IOM invites to reimagine human mobility together. https://ghana.un.org/en/107535-international-migrants-day- 2020-iom-invites-reimagine-human-mobility-together
Roos, R., 2014, 'Migrations in Africa seen as a challenge to stopping Ebola', CIDRAP News. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/ebola/migrations-west-africa-seen-challenge-stopping-ebola Accessed 3 June 2023.
Sibiri, H., Prah, D., and Zankawah, S.M., 2021, 'Containing the Impact of Covid-19: Review of Ghana’s Response Approach', Health Policy and Technology, Vol. 10,
pp. 13–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2020.10.015. Accessed 24 June 2021.
Sullivan, J., 1998, 'Reaching Migrants across Borders in West Africa', AIDSlink: Eastern, Central and Southern Africa, Vol. 49, No. 11.
Teye, A., 2019, Migrants’ and Non-Migrants’ Access and Use of Health Care in Ghana, PhD dissertation, University of Ghana.
UNICEF, 2020, UNICEF Ghana: Covid-19 Situation Report# 3. UN Children’s Fund. https://reliefweb.int/report/ghana/unicef-ghana-covid-19-situation-report-3-1st-15th-may-2020. Accessed 1 June 2021.
United Nations Development Group (UNDG), 2015, Socio-Economic Impact of Ebola Virus Disease in West African Countries: A call for national and regional containment, recovery and prevention. https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/migration/africa/ebola-west-africa.pdf
World Bank, 2020, 'Covid-19 (Coronavirus) Drives Sub-Saharan Africa Toward First Recession in 25 Years', World Bank, 9 April. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/04/09/covid-…virus-drives-sub-saharan-africa-toward-first-recession-in-25-years. Accessed 24 June 2021.
Yen aw, E., 2022, Cross-border migration of itinerant immigrant retailers in Ghana, Journal of International Migration and Integration, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 205–225.