Navigating Conflict and Health in Bawku, Ghana: Implications for Resolution and Management

Daniel Dramani Kipo-Sunyehzi; David Suaka Yaro; Gregory Titigah

doi:10.51867/AQSSR.1.2.5

Authors

Daniel Dramani Kipo-Sunyehzi University of Ghana, Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3697-3333
David Suaka Yaro, PhD University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Ghana Author https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8220-1720
Gregory Titigah Department of Peace and Security, University for Development Studies, Ghana Author https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7286-2632

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51867/AQSSR.1.2.5

Keywords:

Bawku Conflict, Conflict, Conflict Resolution, Health Services, Kusasis–Mamprusis

Abstract

The main goal of this study was to evaluate how conflicts are resolved and how they affect people's ability to access health care in Bawku, Ghana. Specific objectives were to assess factors that affect the management of the Bawku conflict and to evaluate the consequences of the conflict on health services in the Bawku region. The residents living in different locations of Bawku in the Upper East Region of Ghana comprised the target population, which was 144,189 persons. Forty-five (45) respondents were selected using an expert purposive sample methodology with an explanatory sequential design in a mixed method approach. The study was guided by the Protracted Social Conflict Theory. Basic statistical techniques were used in data analysis. The study used questionnaires and interview guides as its main methods for gathering data during the month of July 2023 in the Bawku region. The findings are presented through tables and charts. According to the findings, the Bawku War made it very difficult for residents to get access to medical facilities and services. The worst effects were seen in terms of casualties, wounds, and disruptions to regular life. In addition, the research identifies the best and most frequently used mechanisms for conflict resolution, which include the employment of the military and law enforcement, traditional councils, and houses of chiefs. Furthermore, the study concluded that the ethnic ties of the Mamprusis and Kusasis to other ethnic groups in these nations could potentially lead to the spread of the Bawku conflict to neighboring countries, particularly Togo and Burkina Faso. The study recommends a decrease in hostilities and, potentially, advocates for the complete cessation of political interference in the conflict resolution process in Bawku, located in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

References

Adonteng-Kissi, O., Adonteng-Kissi, B., Jibril, M. K., & Osei, S. K. (2019). Communal conflict versus education: Experiences of stakeholders in Ghana's Bawku conflict. International Journal of Educational Development, 65, 68-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.08.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.08.002

Amnesty International. (2016). The mental health impact of South Sudan's conflict. Amnesty International, South Sudan.

Azar, E. E. (1990). The management of protracted social conflict: Theory and cases. Aldershot: Dartmouth.

Azar, E. E. (1991). The management of protracted social conflict: Theory and cases. Aldershot: Dartmouth.

Bar-Tal, D. (2000). From intractable conflict through conflict resolution to reconciliation: Psychological analysis. Political Psychology, 21(2), 351-365. https://doi.org/10.1111/0162-895X.00192 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/0162-895X.00192

Bou Sanayeh, E., & El Chamieh, C. (2023). The fragile healthcare system in Lebanon: Sounding the alarm about its possible collapse. Health Economics Review, 13(21). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13561-023-00435-w DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13561-023-00435-w

Bukari, K. N., & Gurroh, R. T. (2011). Civil society organizations (CSOs) and peacebuilding in the Bawku Traditional Area: Failure or success? Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(6), 31-41.

Bukari, N. K. (2013). The peace process in the Bawku conflict in Ghana: Challenges and prospects. Conflict and Communication Online, 12(2), 1-12.

Coleman, P. T. (2000). Intractable conflicts. In M. Deutch & P. T. Coleman (Eds.), The handbook of conflict resolution: Theory and practice (pp. 428-450). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Creswell, J. W. (2015). A concise introduction to mixed methods research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

De Jong, K., Mulhern, M., Ford, N., Kam, S. van der, & Kleber, R. (2000). The trauma of war in Sierra Leone. The Lancet, 355(45), 2067-2068. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(00)02364-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(00)02364-3

Doctors Without Borders. (2014). South Sudan conflict: Violence against healthcare. Medicines Sans Frontiers, South Sudan.

Fouad, F. M., Sparrow, A., Tarakji, A., Alameddine, M., El-Jardali, F., & Coutts, A. P. et al. (2017). Health workers and the weaponisation of health care in Syria: A preliminary inquiry for The Lancet-American University of Beirut Commission on Syria. The Lancet, 390, 2516-2526. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30741-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30741-9

Gasu, J. (2020). Identity crisis and inter-ethnic conflicts in northern and upper east regions of Ghana. Ghana Journal of Development Studies, 17(1), 68-91. https://doi.org/10.4314/gjds.v17i1.3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/gjds.v17i1.3

Hemat, H., Shah, S., Isaakidis, P., et al. (2017). Before the bombing: High burden of traumatic injuries in Kunduz trauma center, Kunduz, Afghanistan. PLOS One, 12, e0165270. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0165270

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0165270 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0165270

Issifu, A. K., & Bukari, K. N. (2022). (Re)thinking home-grown peace mechanisms for the resolution of conflicts in Northern Ghana. Conflict, Security & Development, 22(2), 221-242. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14678802.2022.2059934

https://doi.org/10.1080/14678802.2022.2059934 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14678802.2022.2059934

Longi, F. Y. T. (2014). The Kusasi-Mamprusi conflict in Bawku: A legacy of British colonial policy in northern Ghana. Ghana Studies, 17(7), 157-176. https://doi.org/10.1353/ghs.2014.0004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/ghs.2014.0004

https://doi.org/10.3368/gs.17.1.157 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/gs.17.1.157

Lund, C. (2003). Bawku is still volatile: Ethno-political conflicts and state recognition in northern Ghana. Journal of Modern African Studies, 4(14), 578-610. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X03004373 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X03004373

Mall, H., Ramsbotham, O., & Woodhouse, T. (1999). Contemporary conflict resolution. Cambridge: Polity.

Mbowura, C. K., & Longi, F. Y. T. (2016). Colonial conflicts in contemporary northern Ghana: A historical prognosis of the British colonial factor in the Nawuri-Gonga and Mamprusi-Kusasi conflicts. Legon Journal of the Humanities, 27(1), 172-195. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/ljh.v27i1.8

https://doi.org/10.4314/ljh.v27i1.8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/ljh.v27i1.8

Morelli, M., & Rohner, D. (2015). Resource concentration and civil wars. Journal of Development Economics, 117, 32-47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2015.06.003

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2015.06.003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2015.06.003

Namasivayam, A., González, P. A., Delgado, R. C., & Chi, P. C. (2017). The effect of armed conflict on the utilization of maternal health services in Uganda: A population-based study. PLOS Currents: Disasters, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1371/currents.dis.557b987d6519d8c7c96f2006ed3c271a DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/currents.dis.557b987d6519d8c7c96f2006ed3c271a

Plange, N.-K., & Plange. (2007). The colonial state in northern Ghana: The political economy of pacification. Review of African Political Economy, 11(31), 29-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/03056248408703598 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03056248408703598

Saunders, M. N., & Bezzina, F. (2015). Reflections on conceptions of research methodology among management academics. European Management Journal, 33(5), 297-304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2015.06.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2015.06.002

Soeters, S. R. (2012). Tamale 1907-1957: Between colonial trade and colonial chieftainship. Leiden University.

World Health Organization (WHO). (2016). ALERT: Cholera and conflict in South Sudan. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/south_sudan_donor_alert_july2016.pdf

Yaro, D. S., & Longi, F. Y. (2022). Developing alternatives: Citizens perspectives on causes and the ramifications of the 2003 conflict in Darfur. International Journal of Conflict Management, 3(1), 42-54. https://doi.org/10.47941/ijcm.913 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47941/ijcm.913

Yaro, S. D., & Ngmenkpieo, F. (2020). Chieftaincy succession conflicts in the Bunkpurugu traditional area, North East, Ghana. UDS International Journal of Development, 7(1), 285-295. http://www.udsijd.org