Environmental Problems and the Urban Household in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) -Ghana

The report investigates the intersection of poverty and environmental degradation in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), Ghana. It finds that low-income households suffer from severe deficiencies in water access, sanitation, and waste management, which correlate strongly with high prevalences of childhood diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections. The study highlights that while the city has some advanced infrastructure, extreme crowding and unreliable supply systems negate these advantages for the poor. It concludes that an integrated environmental-health strategy, leveraging both government action and local community organisations, is necessary to improve urban welfare.

• Water access in GAMA is highly stratified by wealth; while 98% of wealthy households have indoor piping, only 26% of poor households do, with 33% of the poor relying on water vendors.
• In-home water contamination is widespread, with 87% of storage container samples showing positive counts of faecal coliform, compared to 10% of tap water samples.
• Sanitation facilities in GAMA are severely overcrowded, with 41% of the population relying on communal facilities and nearly two-thirds of those users reporting that toilets are sometimes unusable due to long queues or being out-of-order.
• Open defecation is a significant public health risk in GAMA, particularly among children; 36% of households reported that neighbourhood children sometimes practise open defecation, with the highest rates in poor areas.
• Solid waste management is inadequate, with the Waste Management Department capable of collecting only about 60% of the 900 tons of refuse generated daily.
• Malarial mosquitoes are a persistent hazard, and there is evidence that Anopheles mosquitoes are adapting to breed in household water containers, which are common due to unreliable water supply.
• The use of chemical pest control is associated with respiratory issues: mosquito coils are linked to higher childhood acute respiratory infection, and pump-spray insecticides are associated with respiratory symptoms in female homemakers.
• Food contamination from vendors is a significant risk factor for childhood diarrhoea; the prevalence of diarrhoea was roughly twice as high among households that regularly patronised food vendors.
• Household air pollution is driven by fuel choice, with wood and charcoal users facing the highest exposure to respirable particulates and carbon monoxide.
• A multivariate analysis identifies eight key environmental risk factors significantly associated with higher childhood diarrhoea prevalence, including sharing toilets with more than five households, using pots for water storage, and buying prepared food from vendors.
• Childhood acute respiratory infection (ARI) is significantly associated with factors such as children being present during cooking, overcrowding (less than 4 square meters per person in the sleeping room), and leaky roofs.
• Households place the highest monetary value on insect control and water availability, reflecting the high health burden of malaria and diarrhoea.
• Environmental management in GAMA involves a fragmented institutional structure with at least eight government ministries involved, leading to coordination challenges.
• Local non-governmental organisations, such as the Nima 441 Welfare Association and La Mansaamo Kpee, have successfully implemented community-led sanitation and water projects.

APA

Benneh, G., Songsore, J., Nabila, J. S., Amuzu, A., Tutu, K., Yangyuoru, Y., & McGranahan, G. (n.d.). Environmental Problems and the Urban Household in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) -Ghana. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-EnvironmentalProblemsAccraGhana-McGranahan-1993-FullTextOCR.pdf

Chicago

Benneh, George, Jacob Songsore, John S. Nabila, A.T. Amuzu, K.A. Tutu, Yvon Yangyuoru, and Gordon McGranahan. Environmental Problems and the Urban Household in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) -Ghana. Stockholm Environment Institute, n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-EnvironmentalProblemsAccraGhana-McGranahan-1993-FullTextOCR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Benneh |first1=George |last2=Songsore |first2=Jacob |last3=Nabila |first3=John S. |last4=Amuzu |first4=A.T. |last5=Tutu |first5=K.A. |last6=Yangyuoru |first6=Yvon |last7=McGranahan |first7=Gordon |title=Environmental Problems and the Urban Household in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) -Ghana |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-EnvironmentalProblemsAccraGhana-McGranahan-1993-FullTextOCR.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bennehndenvironmental, author = {Benneh, George and Songsore, Jacob and Nabila, John S. and Amuzu, A.T. and Tutu, K.A. and Yangyuoru, Yvon and McGranahan, Gordon}, title = {{Environmental Problems and the Urban Household in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) -Ghana}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-EnvironmentalProblemsAccraGhana-McGranahan-1993-FullTextOCR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }