Case Study 2022
Mion District, Northern Region of Ghana

Mion District is situated in the Northern Region of Ghana and is home to a largely rural population of approximately 90,000 people in a land size of 2,714 square kilometres. The population is made of equal numbers of males and females, with 60% of the population under the age of 18 years old and an average household size of 6.9 members.

Your Task

Your task is to design a sustainable project in response to this Case Study which showcases various challenges faced by individuals in the Mion District, Ghana.

This Case Study includes:

Core Challenges: These are key challenges faced by the community

Employment, Climate Change, Health and Education

Background Information: This provides additional context to ensure your project's viability

Choose one of the four Core Challenges you would like to respond to

Read the Background Information to gain more context

Design a sustainable project in response to your chosen Core Challenge

CORE CHALLENGES

Core Challenges

Background Information

Ghanaians are very religious people and Mion is no different. 61.8% identify as Muslim, 17.3% as Christians, and 17.3% with traditional religions. This means that traditional and religious values and gender norms dominate the communities, which are very patriarchal.

Culture & Religion

Similar to the rest of the Northern Region, the climate in the Mion district is dry with a single rainy season that spans the months of May to October. With only 11% of roads paved, travel around the region during the rainy season is made difficult for individuals. This is particularly true for farmers living in rural areas, who struggle to reach the main cities to sell their produce.

In addition to the rainy season, the region also experiences Harmattan wind from December to February, characterised by cold, dry winds that cause fluctuations in temperature from 40C in the day to 14C at night.

Climate

Ghana is a democracy, and has a decentralised system, which means that the local district government is responsible for local development. Local chiefs, from the traditional chieftaincy structure, still wield a lot of power in their communities in terms of opinion and action; to get community buy-in into interventions the Chief must be on side.

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The water is mainly sourced from boreholes with handpumps, which although are of decent quality in the Mion district, only cover 7% of basic services in the region. Aside from the hand pumps Mion has some piping infrastructure, but the coverage is extremely low, mainly serving those in the main cities.

Access to water

Like the rest of the world, Ghana was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though cases and mortality rates were comparatively low and predominantly contained in the south, the country has seen huge economic inflation which will greatly impact rural, impoverished regions such as Mion. Schools were closed for almost a year, which has increased the learning gap, especially for children living without access to technology or the internet for remote learning.

Impact of COVID-19

Amongst the challenges faced in the Mion District, there are many reasons to think an intervention in this area could be successful. The community has a strong, well-trusted leadership and a strong sense of belief. This includes the desire to improve quality of life and bring about positive change. Ghana is a democracy with local governments trying to implement projects to create this positive change.

The community also has running community health clinics and free primary and junior high school for all. It is already active in the economic market, with some connections to the main city. It is clear they are also host to lots of fertile land and livestock, and has a young population of working age. People possess various desirable skills which can be used to generate income, such as tailoring, agriculture and making other products.

The community also has running community health clinics and free primary and junior high school for all.

It is already active in the economic market, with some connections to the main city. It is clear they are also host to lots of fertile land and livestock, and has a young population of working age. People possess various desirable skills which can be used to generate income, such as tailoring, agriculture and making other products.

Capacities of the community

Due to the lack of electricity in the Mion district, there remains many difficulties in the delivery of messaging, an important tool in many areas. Very few households have any type of computer, and only 12% have mobile phones, although these are often out of battery due to limiting charging capacities. The main channel for information is the radio. Radio coverage is good and most communities have at least one radio, even where they lack TVs and computers.

Communication

Ghana is a democracy, and has a decentralised system, which means that the local district government is responsible for local development. Local chiefs, from the traditional chieftaincy structure, still wield a lot of power in their communities in terms of opinion and action; the Chief is crucial in determining the support an intervention has within a community.

Politics