Description

Informal head porters Percent Boateng (left) and Lusaka Fuseina (right) carry goods on their heads through Agbogbloshie Market. 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 harm, but they lack necessary social protections. 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: ACC017 & ACC018