Matthew Abunyewah

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Drought is a major climate hazard in semi-arid regions. Wikimedia Commons

Drought can make farmers feel worried and hopeless: Ghana study finds social networks help

Seth Asare Okyere, University of Pittsburgh; Matthew Abunyewah, Charles Darwin University; Michael Odei Erdiaw-Kwasie, Charles Darwin University; Mitchell Keith Byrne, Charles Darwin University; Seth Opoku Mensah, University of Technology Sydney, and Stephen Leonard Mensah, University of Memphis

Drought adversely affects the mental health of Ghanaian farmers.
Millions of Ghanaians live in small towns. Wikimedia Commons

Small towns are growing fast across Ghana – but environmental planning isn’t keeping up

Seth Asare Okyere, University of Pittsburgh; Louis Kusi Frimpong, University of Environment and Sustainable Development ; Matthew Abunyewah, Charles Darwin University; Seth Opoku Mensah, University of Technology Sydney, and Stephen Leonard Mensah, University of Memphis

Many small towns in Ghana lack the infrastructure and planning capacity to cope with their growth.
Informal settlement in Ghana. Merten Snijders/Getty Images

Ghana’s informal settlements are not all the same – social networks make a difference in community development

Seth Asare Okyere, University of Pittsburgh; Louis Kusi Frimpong, University of Environment and Sustainable Development ; Matthew Abunyewah, Charles Darwin University, and Stephen Leonard Mensah, University of Memphis

Development projects must be tailored to the context of the communities they are supposed to help.
Walking in Accra, Ghana is dangerous. Photo by Raquel Maria Carbonell Pagola/LightRocket via Getty Images

Walking in African cities can be a miserable experience: Accra study shows planners ignore needs of pedestrians

Seth Asare Okyere, University of Arizona; Daniel Oviedo, UCL; Louis Kusi Frimpong, University of Environment and Sustainable Development ; Matthew Abunyewah, Charles Darwin University, and Stephen Leonard Mensah, University of Memphis

Walking is a common way of getting around in most African cities
Residents of Accra were given financial aid during the pandemic. Wikimedia Commons/Flickr

Accra’s most vulnerable residents were failed during COVID ‑ the government didn’t understand their realities

Seth Asare Okyere, University of Arizona; Louis Kusi Frimpong, University of Environment and Sustainable Development ; Matthew Abunyewah, Charles Darwin University, and Stephen Kofi Diko, University of Memphis

COVID-19-related support only reduced the negative impact of the pandemic on financial capital, and not on the other forms of capital
Market fires cause significant upheavals in the heavily informal Ghanaian economy. Wikimedia Commons

Accra’s market fires are devastating to informal traders ‑ but they don’t trust or understand what they’re being told about managing risk

Seth Asare Okyere, University of Arizona; Louis Kusi Frimpong, University of Environment and Sustainable Development ; Matthew Abunyewah, Charles Darwin University, and Stephen Kofi Diko, University of Memphis

Fire risk communication strategies must not only be supported by formal institutions such as government agencies but also be rooted in and sensitive to each market’s socio-cultural dynamics.
Property address has long been a problem in Ghana Wikimedia Commons

Ghana digitised its address system: its failure offers lessons to other African countries creating smart cities

Louis Kusi Frimpong, University of Environment and Sustainable Development ; Matthew Abunyewah, Charles Darwin University; Seth Asare Okyere, University of Arizona, and Stephen Kofi Diko, University of Memphis

Ghanaians aren’t using the new ‘smart’ street address system which was intended to improve service delivery.
People take shelter during the floods in Mozambique. Antonio Silva/EPA

More people in Africa need to be insured against natural disasters

Matthew Abunyewah, University of Newcastle; David A. Savage, University of Newcastle; Kim Maund, University of Newcastle; Michael Odei Erdiaw-Kwasie, University of Southern Queensland; Seth Asare Okyere, Osaka University, and Thayaparan Gajendran, University of Newcastle

While disaster insurance would go a long way in averting losses, demand for cover is still lower than expected.

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