Seth Asare Okyere

  • Teaching Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburg and Visiting Associate Professor, The University of Osaka, University of Pittsburgh
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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ghanaians aren’t using the new ‘smart’ street address system which was intended to improve service delivery.
People walking next to traffic in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city. Photo by Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images

People living in African urban settings do a lot of walking: but their cities aren’t walkable

African city planners need to promote inclusive cities where residents are not captive walkers but walk because it is accessible, safe and pleasurable to do so.
People take shelter during the floods in Mozambique. Antonio Silva/EPA

More people in Africa need to be insured against natural disasters

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

Contact Seth for

  • General
  • Media request
  • Speaking request
  • Consulting / Advising
  • Research collaboration
  • Research supervision