News and Events
The Health Facilities and Regulatory Agency (HeFRA) engages Ghana’s Care Economy project team on strengthening regulation in the long-term care sector, February 2026, Ghana
The Health Facilities and Regulatory Agency (HeFRA) held a strategic meeting with the “Ghana’s Care Economy: Case and Potential” project team in Accra to explore collaboration on strengthening regulation in Ghana’s emerging long-term care sector. The meeting brought together PhD researchers from the project and the Ag. Registrar, who expressed appreciation for the Care Economy Ghana Project’s research and noted that discussions with the Head of Licensing Directorate, Dr Marfo, who attended a recent project stakeholder workshop on 13th February 2026 at Accra City Hotel, underscored the growing importance of private long-term care services in Ghana.
HeFRA acknowledged the project’s research contributions, particularly in identifying regulatory gaps in the private long-term care sector and emphasized plans to strengthen regulatory mechanisms in 2026. The agency highlighted the importance of improved licensing and compliance to enhance service quality and protect older adults.
Ghana’s care economy project team holds internal and stakeholder workshops in Accra, February 2026, Ghana
As part of the second phase of the “Developing Ghana’s Care Economy: Case and Potential” project, the Care Economy team convened a series of workshops aimed at advancing dialogue and collaboration on strengthening long-term care systems in Ghana.
The engagements began with an internal project workshop held on 11-12 February 2026. The session provided an opportunity for the research team to review emerging findings, refine analytical approaches, and align strategic priorities for the next phase of the project.
Building on these internal deliberations, the team subsequently hosted a stakeholder workshop at the Accra City Hotel on 13 February 2026. The stakeholder workshop brought together representatives from government agencies, academia, NGOs, pensioners' associations and individual and commercial care providers. Key institutions included the National Pensioners Association, Health Facility Regulatory Agency (HeFRA), the University of Ghana's Centre for Aging Studies, the Department of Community Development (Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs), the Ministry of Education, as well as individual and commercial care service providers.
The workshop created an inclusive platform for stakeholders to reflect on new research findings, identify key challenges within Ghana’s long-term care landscape, and collaboratively develop culturally grounded and sustainable solutions.
An initial online media report on the event can be accessed below:
Stakeholders co-create solutions for building a sustainable care economy for older adults | ISSER UG
Ghana’s care economy holds the key to mass employment- ISSER | Ghana News Agency
Ghana must invest in elderly care - Prof. Ackah - Ghanaian Times
PhD student with Ghana’s care economy project, presents paper at QAR-Net care conference at the Centre for Care at the University of Sheffield, December 2025, The United Kingdom
The Ghana Care Economy Project continues to strengthen its international footprint, as Daniel Offei, a PhD student on the project, presented one of his doctoral research papers at the QAR-Net Care Conference hosted by the Centre for Care at the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, on 15-16 December 2025.
The QAR-Net Care Conference, themed “Care and Inequality: Bridging Research and Practice,” brought together international scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to examine structural inequalities in caregiving and long-term care systems.
Daniel’s presentation focused on evidence from Ghana on unorganized caregivers, a pillar of long-term care provision in low- and middle-income countries. The research examined caregivers’ willingness to financially outsource aspects of care and showed how economic constraints, caregiving intensity, and socio-cultural norms shape financing decisions.
An online report on the conference can be accessed below:
PhD Student presents a paper at the 7th Transforming Care Conference in Helsinki, under Ghana’s Care Economy Project, June 2025, Finland
Mr. Daniel Offei, a PhD student working under the “Ghana’s Care Economy: Case and Potential” project, presented a paper at the 7th Transforming Care Conference held from June 25-27, 2025, at the University of Helsinki, Finland. The conference was organized in collaboration with the Centre of Excellence in Research on Ageing and Care (CoE AgeCare), the University of Helsinki, the University of Jyväskylä, and the Transforming Care Network (TCN).
The conference theme, “Social and Human Rights in Care,” examined how global frameworks, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the European Pillar of Social Rights, and the EU Care Strategy, shape childcare, disability care, and long-term care for older adults.
On behalf of his co-authors, Ulrika Enemark, Charles Godfred Ackah, Robert Darko Osei, and Derek Asuman, Daniel Offei presented the paper “Well-Being Gains and Losses from Unorganized Caregiving for Older Adults in Ghana”. The study found that caregiving is often associated with declines in well-being, particularly in physical and environmental domains, while emotional support was linked to improved well-being.
Meeting with the Regional Consortium for Research on Generational Economy (CREG), February 2025, Senegal
The Regional Consortium for Research on Generational Economy (CREG) and its partners invited the Care Economy Ghana PhD Students to a two-day consultative meeting to discuss the present realities, problematics and desired future solutions for the care economy in Africa. The two-day forum, held in Saly-Senegal on the 24th and 25th February 2025, brought together key actors from government, civil society, policy, and academic spheres in the women’s empowerment, family and gender sectors in Senegal and the wider region to share knowledge and expertise on the current/evolving perspectives and activities in the field of 'care economy' across policy-, practice- funder and academic spheres.
This forum was an opportunity for the Care Economy PhD students to engage with findings, discussions and experiences on the Care Economy Africa Project. They had the opportunity to share our perspectives and suggestions for building on the projects' outcomes.
In Ghana, passionate individuals strive to ensure that the elderly are remembered, November 2024, Denmark
In November, Ulrika Enemark was interviewed for an article and a podcast on the Danish news platform Verdens Bedste Nyheder (The World’s Best News). The article and podcast focused on care for elderly in Ghana and also included interviews with NGOs in Ghana and Denmark.
Consultative Forum on New pan-African Feminist and Decolonial Framework on Long-term Care, August 2024, Kenya
The Care Economy PhD students participated in a Consultative Forum on New pan-African Feminist and Decolonial Framework on Long-term Care in August 13 - 14, 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya. The consultative forum, hosted by the Africa Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), was part of the larger Care Economy Africa Project which aimed to develop grounded approaches to the study and conceptualisation of long-term care in Africa.
The two-day consultative forum considered new pan African feminist and decolonial framework for generating understandings and agenda on the problems with long-term care in Kenya as well as the required solutions for current and future long-term care.
The consultative forum brought together individuals from across Africa, Europe and North America working in different backgrounds on unpaid care work and long-term care including civil society, policy, journalism and academia. The consultative forum was a great opportunity to engage with ongoing research and developments on the care economy in Africa, as well as engender alternative perspectives and considerations for Ghana Care Economy PhD projects.
Supervisor team meeting in Aarhus, June 2024, Denmark
The Care Economy Project held a joint project and supervisory meeting from June 24th to 28th 2024 in Aarhus University, Aarhus. Supervisors from Ghana and Germany joined the PhD students already in Aarhus for a 6-month research stay to discuss results from their various PhD projects.
The PhD students received extensive feedback from the project team and supervisory committees on results from their analysis. The project members also had the opportunity to learn more about elder care in Denmark from a presentation by representatives of Aarhus municipality.
PhD students on research stay at Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, March 2024, Denmark
The four PhD students on the project will spend six months on a research stay at the department of Public Health, Aarhus University.
Study reveals disturbing findings on caregiver absence and challenges in long-term care, February 2024, Ghana
At a workshop organized to share the preliminary findings of the project, the researchers shared troubling observations on the realities faced by care receivers in Ghana. From caregivers' absence to care receivers being left alone without access to food, the observations underscore the urgent need for concerted action to address critical issues within the country's long-term care systems.
An online report on the workshop can be accessed below: