Description

Informal workers Zenabu Abrahamanu (right) and Asetu Somana (left) sell bananas at Agbogbloshie Market, a major trading centre for fruits, vegetables, and other foods in Accra. Head porters, known as kayayei, are young women (including adolescents) who work long days in the city markets, transporting materials for vendors or assisting buyers in carrying their shopping to vehicles. Many also work for shop owners in the markets in re-stocking, packing, and tidying up.It's tiring physical labour and among the lowest paid in the city markets. Many kayayei in Accra hail from Ghana's northern regions. They come to the country's capital to make money and escape abject poverty at home. Among informal workers, kayayei are often the most marginalized and most subject to work-related injuries and bodily harmall day they balance heavy loads on their heads, serve customers, and weave through crowds of people, shoppers, and cars. In their work, they lack necessary social protections, which means that when they become sick or experience injury, they have no safety net. In 2012, WIEGO facilitated a health policy dialogue between 100 kayayei and represenatives of the Ministry of Health and National Insurance Scheme. The kayayei shared their stories and as a direct result of this dialogue, 1,000 kayayei were able to register and gain better information on available health care services through the Ghanaian National Insurance Scheme.. FULLY RELEASED - CONSENT NUMBER: ACC013 & ACC014