About 60% of all newborn infants will develop neonatal jaundice in the first week after birth. In most newborns, jaundice is physiological and clears spontaneously over the first few days, but a significant proportion will require treatment to avoid a persistently high level of bilirubin (hyperbilirubinaemia). Severe hyperbiliribinaemia may lead to brain damage (kernicterus), death and lifelong impairment. It is the most significant and preventable risk factor for cerebral palsy in Ghana.

Healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) pose a constant threat not only to patients, their families and healthcare systems but also to society as a whole. Apart from contributing to increased mortality they add substantially to hospital costs. Very few studies estimate the excess cost of HCAI in developing countries with the majority of these studies found in Latin America. To date, there has been no costing of HCAIs in Ghana. The costing study which is part of larger HCAI study will be conducted in three phases with two stages of data collection within each phase.

This is a three-year $450,000 research project, led from ISSER, to test a package of training and financing for women shea producers in Northern Ghana. This project, supported by USAID under its Feed the Future Advancing Local Leadership, Innovation and Networks (ALL-IN) program, seeks to increase the shea sector’s overall profitability while empowering women to receive the full benefits of their work.

This is a three-year $449,833 research project led from ISSER that uses communications by cell phone to strengthen nutrition among young children in Northern Ghana. The project, supported by USAID under its Feed the Future Advancing Local Leadership, Innovation and Networks (ALL-IN) program, is testing whether this approach reinforces the Resiliency in Northern Ghana Project (RING), a prominent USAID program focused on nutrition and resilience.