Ghana — Population Mobility Mapping for Rapid Cholera Response (February 2025)

Ghana is currently experiencing severe cholera outbreak which started in late August 2024, in the Ada East district of the Greater Accra Region.

According to a report from the Ghana Health Service, as of 14 November 2024, there were 1,726 suspected cases in 32 districts, of which 131 have been confirmed, and 16 deaths have been reported. Most cases are concentrated in the Greater Accra region, with 68 confirmed cases.

The outbreak is worsened by climate-sensitive environments, socio-economic challenges, and complex human mobility patterns. This includes recent internal displacement due to the October 2023 floods around the Volta Basin in Ghana, the spillover of the Sahel crisis, and the economic importance of the Abidjan-Lagos corridor. The main sources of water in the affected areas, such as unprotected wells, boreholes, lack of hygiene combined with open defecation, have contributed to the spread of the diseases.

To better understand the human mobility dynamics and public health risks and response to the cholera outbreak, IOM Ghana, under the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), conducted a one-week pilot of the population mobility mapping (PMM) from 16 to 21 December 2024, in 10 communities of the Ada East District; Pute, Totopey, Ocanseykope, Otrokpe, Azizanya, Azizakpe, Kewunor, Foah Zongo, Teyemensah Panya and Kasseh (Agbedekofi).

This report thus presents the results of the exercise and patterns to define priority sites where active surveillance and health risk reduction responses of cholera outbreak for vulnerable communities are most urgent and Adapt interventions to build the resilience of affected populations in the Ada East District of the Greater Accra region.