Old Fadama: Threat to Ghana achieving MDGs

The Old Fadama slum

Old Fadama has been identified as the largest slum in Accra. It occupies 3.1 hectares of land and having a population of about 80,000. The place, over past years, has become a shelter for a lot of youth, especially, those from the northern parts of Ghana, seeking greener pastures and a better standard of living.

It is also a shelter for most northerners trying to escape from forced early marriages and witchcraft accusations. The settlement is considered illegal and the settlers threatened with forced eviction, and have been denied developmental projects, in terms of health and creation of jobs.

The government, in a nutshell, has indirectly made the people aware that they are on their own. Even when it comes to the fulfilling of the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs), from the look of things, it seems the government is prepared to risk failing the achievement of these goals by not paying attention to the problems of Old Fadama, since the people have refused to relocate.

Old Fadama and MDGs, HIV/AIDS Combat
The combating of HIV/AIDS in Ghana is one of the priorities of the government, which is why it went ahead to include herself among the 189 nations which signed the MDG declaration including the combating of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases by 2015. Since the government is committed to achieving these goals, it has brought about and organised many campaigns to raise awareness for its citizens, especially, in the area of HIV/AIDS, which is incurable.

As the nation needs healthy people to strengthen her labour force, the government is making sure that the campaign on the awareness of HIV/AIDS reaches the doorsteps of every individual. Though Old Fadama has almost 80,000 settlers, the government has not thought it wise to save the people from these dreadful diseases by extending HIV/AIDS campaigns to the community. With the explanation that their occupation of the land is illegal, the government has refused to bear in mind that as they are still citizens of Ghana, and that the stigma associated with the diseases does not affect the individual only, but the nation as well.

It is sad to note that the recent research conducted by the Ghana Federation of Urban Poor (GHFUP), the People's Dialogue on Human Settlement, Journalists for Human Rights and some students of the Africa Communication University College, revealed that national HIV/aids activities and programmes do not reach the community, resulting in the members organising such activities for themselves. According to the research, members of the Old Fadama Development Association (OFADA) organise and run HIV/ aids programmes and activities.

According to the Secretary and the local HIV/AIDS activist, Mr. Imoro Toyibo, members of the association usually perform dances and drama to educate the settlers on the dangers of the diseases, how they are transmitted, and how one can protect him or herself. He said, even though this activity is just a visual form of educating the people, it has gone a long way in sensitising the community, to the extent that for the past four years he could recall only one HIV/AIDS patient who had died in the vicinity.

The Vice Chairperson of the association, Mr. Abubakari Shei, disclosed that the slum had quite a number of brothels,  numbering over 30. The sex workers are mostly young women who travel from the northern parts of the country in search of greener pastures. They arrive in Accra without skills, thereby resorting to prostitution when the going gets tough. He said most of these girls usually have no knowledge of the existence of the HIV scourge, but acquire this during their numerous campaigns.

According to him the kayayei (female head porters) and traders are the group who mostly contribute to the spread of the virus in the community, as they don't reside in the community, but come there to do business, and do not bother to check their HIV status. As the community is a slum, there is no government health monitoring agency to keep records of cases of affected people. He said with the help of foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like the American Jewish World Service, the association members were able to get access to condoms which they distribute to sex workers through ten public outlets in the community. The cry of the association is that they want government, especially, the Ghana AIDS Commission, to come to their aid, as the community needs testing and counseling every month.

Scrap dealers and electronic waste
Electronic waste burning and scrap dealing are some of the profitable businesses in Old Fadama, but very hectic, coupled with the health risks associated with them. The youth involved have to go long distances under the scorching sun in order to get the needed electronic waste to burn or scrap. The heat associated with the burning does not only affect the young men who usually deal in this business, but children around and the environment as well. The process of extracting these metals and wires, mostly done with child labour, involves the breaking apart and burning of the products, which end up releasing toxic elements like lead, mercury and brominates, which pollute the atmosphere of the surroundings. According to SCIENCE DIRECT, a website on health, exposure to lead can have a wide range of effects on a child's development and behaviour. Even when exposed to small amounts of lead levels, children may appear inattentive, hyperactive and irritable.

Children with greater lead levels may also have problems with learning, reading, delayed growth and loss of hearing. At high levels, lead can cause permanent brain damage, and even death. Early identification and treatment of lead poisoning, reduces the risk, thus preventing the children from suffering permanent damage. Treatment begins with removal of the child from the sources of the lead, while medications can remove lead from the body.

The soil from an open burning site is moderately contaminated, while sediment from the Agbogbloshie Lagoon contains a very high level of these highly toxic, highly persistent and bio accumulative chemicals, at a level just below the threshold defined as being indicative of serious contamination for sediment.

Conclusion
Due to Old Fadama being abandoned by the government, the Ghana Federation of Urban Poor (GHFUP) and the People's Dialogue on Human Settlement have taken it upon itself to help the community through an enumeration programme that gathers statistics in the community. This collection helps the city authorities and NGOs to know more about the community, and can also be used to solicit the government to draft policy decisions to address the challenges faced by the residents.

The enumeration programme is the first step to improving conditions in the country's most notorious slums. In 2007, it was quoted by public authorities that the population in Old Fadama was 48,280, without the large number of kayayei, but it was in 2009 that GHFUP came out with the right figure. The programme has helped identify the major problems of the community and allowed members of the GHFUP and Old Fadama community to take care of their own development.

The GHFUP research revealed that although the Accra Metropolitan assembly (AMA) continues to threaten the settlers of Old Fadama with eviction, they have learned how to negotiate with stakeholders in securing a better future for themselves, and are being empowered to stand up for their rights.