Stephen O. Kwankye is an Associate Professor of the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), College of Humanities, at the University of Ghana, Legon. He is a Demographer and Population Scientist by training and holds PhD in Population Studies with specialisation in adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Between 2011 and 2014, he worked on secondment to the National Population Council of Ghana as the Executive Director, in charge of coordinating all population-related programmes in Ghana and advising government on relevant policy interventions. He was the Acting Director of RIPS from October 1, 2002 to January 3, 2006. He has tremendous experience in population and development advocacy and undertakes quantitative and qualitative research related to population and reproductive health. He worked with a team to produce the National Migration Policy and a Strategic Plan for Ghana in 2012-2014. He served as Principal Investigator on the “Barriers to Condom Use in Ghana Study” and as a co-Principal Investigator on “North-South Independent Migration of Children in Ghana” with a principal focus on the decision-making process, coping strategies, their sexual and reproductive health, return, and re-integration. He was a Co-Principal Investigator on the Healthy City for Adolescents (HCA) Research Project in Tamale and Ashaiman, Ghana, with funding from the Botnar Fondation from 2020 to 2022. He also served as International Technical Editor of nine thematic reports on the 2015 Population and Housing Census of Sierra Leone. He was a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the 2021 Population and Housing Census of Ghana and served as a reviewer of the census reports. For about 10 years, he served as a member of the Pentecost University Council, Ghana until May 2024. He is an External Examiner for the Department of Population and Health of the University of Cape Coast and a reviewer for academic journals including African Population Studies and Migration Studies and he has several publications in these areas to his credit. He is a member of the Union of African Population Studies (UAPS) and the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP).

skwankye@ug.edu.gh

Prof. Stephen Owusu Kwankye
  • Adolescent sexual and reproductive health
  • Independent child migration
  • Fertility and Population Dynamics
  • Population and development interrelationships
  • Civil Registration System
  1. Spencer, G., et al. (2023). Young people’s involvement in migration research – opportunities for (re)shaping research priorities and practices. Journal of the British Academy, 11(s3): 43–67. DOI
  2. Wak, G., et al. (2023). Impact of kinship support on child mortality in the Upper East Region of Ghana: assessing the Grandmother Hypothesis. International Health. DOI
  3. Spencer, G., et al. (2022). The Health Experiences of Young Internal Migrants in Ghana—Identifying Priorities for Sustainable Health Promotion. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 19, 15229. DOI
  4. Kwankye, S.O., et al. (2021). Understanding the demographic dividend in Ghana, Sierra Leone and The Gambia: Prospects or missed opportunities? Ghana Journal of Geography, 13(1), 25-49. DOI
  5. Yeboah, I., et al. (2021). Consistency of the determinants of achieving fertility desires in Ghana. Genus, 77:27. DOI
  6. Spencer, G., et al. (2021). Children and Young People Who Migrate – Representing and (Re)producing Vulnerabilities. Advances in Research Ethics and Integrity, 7, 183-197. DOI
  7. Kwankye, S.O., et al. (2021). Sexual and reproductive health of African migrant and refugee children: a literature review. BMC Reproductive Health, 18:81. DOI
  8. Salami, B., et al. (2021). Health of African Immigrant and Refugee Children: A Scoping Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 18, 3514. DOI
  9. Yeboah, I., et al. (2021). Predictors of underachieved and overachieved fertility among women with completed fertility in Ghana. PLoS ONE, 16(6): e0250881. DOI
  10. Santana de Sousa, P.R., et al. (2020). Covid-19, Migration and Children in West Africa. Lancet Migration, (1), 1-10. Report
  11. Kwankye, S.O., Anarfi, J.K. (2018). International Migration and Africa’s Development. In: Migration in a Globalizing World (pp. 31-50). Sub-Saharan Publishers.
  12. Wak, G., et al. (2017). Data Reliability: Comparison between Census and HDSS Outputs. Population Review, 56(1), 31-45.
  13. Badasu, D.M., et al. (2016). Religiosity and condom use with casual partners in Ghana. Population Review, 55(2), 25-44.
  14. Kwankye, S.O., Cofie, E. (2015). Ghana’s Population Policy Implementation. African Population Studies, 29(2), 1734-1748.
  15. Apo, S.B., et al. (2015). Malaria Prevention Messages and Bednet Usage among Children. European Scientific Journal, 11(18), 290-305.
  16. Kwankye, S.O., Amedoe, J.A., Cash-Abbey, E. (2014). Adolescent Reproductive Health. In: Population Studies: Key Issues (pp. 203-222).
  17. Kwankye, S.O., Cofie, E. (2014). Population Policy. In: Population Studies: Key Issues (pp. 243-259).
  18. Kwankye, S.O. (2013). Growing Old in Ghana: Health and Economic Implications. Postgraduate Medical Journal of Ghana, 2(2), 88-97.
  19. Kwankye, S.O. (2012). Transition into Adulthood: Experiences of Child Migrants. Omnes: The Journal of Multicultural Society, 3(1), 1-24.
  20. Kwankye, S.O. (2011). Independent North-South Child Migration as Parental Investment. Population, Space and Place. DOI
  21. Kwankye, S.O. (2010). The Social and Reproductive Health Implications of Child Migration. Research Review, 26(2), 19-27.
  22. Kwankye, S.O. (2010). Population Growth and Agricultural Development in Afram Plains. In: Population-Environment Nexus in Ghana (pp. 22-53). Lambert Academic Publishing.

1. Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Unpacking Possibilities for Empowerment with Young Migrants in Ghana, with funds from the British Academy for £56,293.41.

2. African Child Migration in Circumstances of Vulnerability, with funding from the Social Science and Health Research Council, Canada for CAN$42,590.00

  • POPS 601: Sources, Evaluation and Adjustment of Demographic Data
  • Pops 602: Population and Development Interrelationships
  • Pops 612: Population Estimation and Projection
  • Pops 722: Advanced Population Estimation and Projection
Staff Category
Faculty