Are internal migrants (head porters) sexually vulnerable due to the coronavirus pandemic? A qualitative study of the situation in Ghana.

Head porterage, popularly known in Ghana as Kayayei, has been an old economic venture for young girls and women who migrate from the northern to the southern part of the country. Even though Head Porters view Kayayei as a source of livelihood, conditions such as the outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) further worsened their sexual vulnerabilities, as well as their autonomy to make decisions on contraceptive use. Head Porters, as a term defined in this study, refers to women aged 15 years or older who carry loads from one point of the town to another for a fee.

Correlates of Hepatitis B infection in pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Wa Municipality, Ghana.

Despite the availability of an effective vaccine against viral hepatitis B infection, it remains prevalent, highly transmissible especially through mother-to-child, life-threatening, and a major public health challenge. A positive Hepatitis B e-Antigen (HBeAg) mother has a 90% risk of transmitting the virus to the unborn child in the perinatal period. This study sought to determine the prevalence and risk of Hepatitis B infection among pregnant women in the Wa Municipality of Ghana.