Simon Mariwah

Social media increasingly shapes how younger publics encounter environmental issues, sustainability themes, and knowledge about responsible natural resource use. Despite this influence, many institutions still choose platforms impressionistically, even though differences in platform scale, audience concentration, and communication affordances affect the reach and educational fit of environmental messaging. This paper examines how major social media platforms can be interpreted as strategic communication environments for advancing youth-oriented environmental awareness and literacy. The study employs a comparative secondary-data design and treats platform indicators as planning evidence rather than as proof of platform effectiveness. It synthesizes current global and platform-specific reporting from DataReportal alongside official company and investor records where available. The analysis compares platform-scale indicators, youth-relevant audience structure, and recent trend signals to identify communication opportunity structures for youth outreach. The analysis shows that major platforms differ not only in reported scale but also in metric type, youth concentration, and likely communication function. Visually driven and socially networked platforms appear especially relevant to youth-facing dissemination, while broader-reach or search-oriented platforms remain useful for explanation, search visibility, and sustained follow-through. At the same time, the evidence does not demonstrate that platform scale alone produces environmental literacy or behavioral change. The study concludes that validated platform indicators can support bounded inference about where youth-oriented environmental communication is most plausibly positioned to achieve visibility, repetition, and strategic fit. It provides a source-validated, cross-platform framework for utilizing social media to enhance environmental awareness and literacy among youth, while maintaining clear boundaries on what public platform indicators can demonstrate.

Substandard and falsified medicines threaten African health systems, yet research on this crisis is fragmented and concentrated in few countries, predominantly led by Global North institutions. Building African-led research capacity is essential for evidence-based policy. Substandard and falsified medicines are a global health threat. The fight against them is a regulatory and research challenge; here, the authors argue the importance of global and regional oversight, monitoring of, and research into the extent of the issue.

Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is critical for health and academic performance. Yet, many schools in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana, face significant challenges in providing adequate WASH facilities, leading to profound implications for students' health and academic performance. This study evaluates WASH practices among pupils in basic schools in the Mfantseman Municipality, Ghana, using a mixed-method approach involving 368 pupils from 16 schools. Findings reveal that while most schools have access to water and sanitation facilities, many are partially functional or non-operational, particularly in rural areas. Although handwashing facilities are widely available, only 30.2% of pupils consistently wash their hands with soap before meals, despite higher rates (63.3%) after toilet use. The study highlights the lack of separate facilities for menstrual hygiene management, disproportionately affecting female students. These findings underscore the need for improved WASH infrastructure and behaviour change interventions. This study contributes to the literature on WASH in schools. Based on the study's findings, it is recommended that the Ghana Education Service, Teachers and Parents should ensure infrastructure improvement while implementing behaviour change interventions in the basic schools.

Social isolation and loneliness have been linked to adverse health outcomes such as depression in old age. However, limited data exist on the association of loneliness and social isolation with probable depression (PD) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), while psychosocial mediators are largely unknown. This study investigates the individual and joint associations of social isolation and loneliness with PD among older adults in Ghana. It quantifies the extent to which psychosocial factors mediate the associations. Cross-sectional data from the Aging, Health, Well-being, and Health-seeking Behaviour Study were analyzed. PD was defined as moderate to severe depressive symptoms with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D-9) scale. Loneliness and social isolation were assessed with the University of California, Los Angeles 3-item loneliness scale and the Berkman-Syme Social Network Index, respectively. Multivariable logistic models and PROCESS macro bootstrapping mediation analyses were performed. Among the 1,201 adults aged ≥50 years (M _age = 66.1 ± 11.9 years, 63.3% women), 29.5% PD cases were found. The prevalence of social isolation and loneliness was 27.3% and 17.7%, respectively. Loneliness (OR = 3.15, 95% CI = 3.26–5.28) and social isolation (OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.10–1.41) were independently associated with higher odds of PD. The loneliness and PD association was modified by spatial location ( P _interaction = 0.021); thus, the association was more pronounced in rural areas (OR = 7.06) than in urban areas (OR = 3.43). Psychosocial factors (e.g. sleep problems) mediated the loneliness/social isolation and PD association. Loneliness and social isolation were independently associated with a higher likelihood of PD, and psychosocial factors mediated the associations. Interventions to reduce PD in later life should also consider addressing loneliness and social isolation, as well as sleep problems.

Thermal power generation is the main source of power in the energy mix of the country. Erratic rainfall patterns, the high cost of fossil fuel for thermal generation, and increase electricity demand have contributed to rampant power outages in the recent past. This paper examined energy conservation and efficiency awareness practices of households in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. It assessed the level and variability in energy conservation practices and the level of energy-savings awareness education among households. Three hundred and ninety-six households were randomly selected from nine communities using stratified sampling techniques. Five stakeholders from the electricity sector were purposively sampled for in-depth interviews. The data sets were modeled using the utility maximization framework to econometrically estimate socioeconomic factors influencing the energy conservation behaviour of households. The findings reveal that years spent in school by household heads, income levels, expenditure, age of households, and the number of times electricity power triples off daily were among the key factors influencing individual households’ choice of energy-efficient appliances. There was significant variability between existing social strata in terms of income and use of electrical appliances among households that warrants policy direction. Based on the findings, this study recommends a robust energy literacy program to improve households’ energy efficiency practices awareness, and to ensure energy cost savings, environmental protection, and climate change mitigation that will enhance the drive towards achieving sustainable development goals seven.