Internal migration, precarious housing and health issues in urban Ghana

Abstract Most housing forms and living arrangements in contemporary African cities poorly address the needs of mobile populations. This paper therefore explores the housing and living conditions that emerge from the temporal mobility patterns practised by poor, low-income internal migrants and health issues emanating from such living and housing arrangements. The study is based on 71 semi-structured interviews with internal migrants—head porters (locally known as kayayei )—who primarily migrated from northern Ghana to the central part of the country, Kumasi. The findings demonstrate that in addition to the health problems arising from the physically demanding nature of their work, all participants endure precarious housing conditions, further exacerbating their health issues. More importantly, it is argued here that the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened their socio-economic vulnerability and instability. The implications of these findings are significant for policies related to housing, health and (internal) migration.