In its quest to broaden the frontiers of knowledge, Kumasi Technical University (KsTU) the best technical university in Ghana and one of the best in Africa is determined to vigorously push the agenda of collaborative research. This is being done through bilateral and multilateral collaborations. In this regard, researchers all over the world especially in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as well as some aspects of the social sciences are being pursued.

It is in the light of this collaborative research that Dr. Lewis Abedi Asante of the Department of Estate Management, under the Faculty of Built and Natural Environment of KsTU and his colleague Dr. Henning Fuller of Humboldt University of Berlin have secured funding for a research project.

The project which is being funded by German Research Foundation is on “Open Markets in Ghana and Covid-19 Interventions: Competing Strategies of Infection Control and Lessons for Relational Urban Health” received a total funding of 61,720 Euros.

Apart from the four Research Assistants to be employed by Dr. L. Abedi Asante and all other cost considered, KsTU is at least raking in about 9,200 Euros within the project period of twelve months. The research seeks to address some of the livelihood challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic and they are related to the various open markets in Ghana. It addresses the challenges brought by the various shift systems introduced in these markets during the peak period of the pandemic and their implications to both managers of the markets and the people in the markets. It also seeks to address some of the public health concerns in the various markets in Ghana within the era of COVID 19. 

Picture: Dr. Abedi of the Department of Estate Management at Kumasi Technical University.