Dr Fidelia A. A. Dake holds degrees in different disciplines including a Doctor of Philosophy (in Population Studies), a Master of Philosophy (in Population Studies), a Master of Science (in Global Ageing and Policy) and a Bachelor of Science (in Nutrition and Food Science). She is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Regional Institute for Population, University of Ghana where she teaches postgraduate courses in statistics and demographic methods at the Masters and PhD levels and also supervises students in writing their thesis/dissertation. She has also held affiliations at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The Pennsylvania State University, Cambridge University, the UNICEF Office of Research, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Dr. Dake conducts research on issues of national interest and international relevance, independently and collaboratively with researchers in and outside Ghana. Her research intersects population health and nutrition outcomes, social determinants of health, urban health and international health interrelationships. One of her current research projects explores using digital communication to build resilience and improve nutrition outcomes among rural poor households in Northern Ghana. The findings of her research have been published in high impact peer-reviewed journals such as Public Health Nutrition, BMJ Open and Journal of Urban Health among others. 

Dr. Dake is passionate about equipping young Africans with knowledge and skills to be competitive in the rapidly evolving digital data era. She serves as a co-organizer of the Summer Institute in Computational Social Science (SICSS) where participants from different disciplines are introduced to analysis of big data using techniques such as sentiment analysis, topic modeling and machine learning, among others. She is a member of several professional bodies including the Union for African Population Studies (UAPS), the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) and the Population Association of America (PAA). 

Dr Fidelia Dake

Population Health, Diet & Nutrition, Physical Activity, Obesity & Non-Communicable Diseases, Civil Registration & Vital Statistics, Computational Social Science

  1. Siaw, P. M., & Dake, F. A. A. (2024). Co-Wives and Co-Siblings: Does the Rank of Wives Matter in Fertility among Women in Ghana? Journal of African Population Studies, 2024(1), 5289. https://doi.org/10.59147/gVrACQD6.
  2. Dake, F. A. A., & Christian, A. K. (2023). Cold, dark and malnourished: a cross-sectional analysis of the relationship between energy poverty and household burden of malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa. BMJ Open, 13(12), e074601. https://doi.org/10.1136/BMJOPEN-2023-074601.
  3. Tatah, L., Pearce, M., Goel, R., Brage, S., Woodcock, J., & Dake, F. A. A. (2022). Physical Activity Behaviour and Comparison of GPAQ and Travel Diary Transport-Related Physical Activity in Accra, Ghana. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12), 7346. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127346.
  4. Agyekum, M. W., Codjoe, S. N. A., Dake, F.A. A., & Abu, M. (2022a). Enablers and inhibitors of exclusive breastfeeding: perspectives from mothers and health workers in Accra, Ghana. International Breastfeeding Journal, 17(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13006-022-00462-z.
  5. Agyekum, M. W., Codjoe, S. N. A., Dake, F. A. A., & Abu, M. (2022b). Is infant birth weight and mothers perceived birth size associated with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding in Ghana? PloS One, 17(5), e0267179. 
  6. Cobos Muñoz, D., Sant Fruchtman, C., Miki, J., Vargas-Herrera, J., Woode, S., Dake, F. A. A., Clapham, B., De Savigny, D., & Botchway, E. (2022). The Need to Address Fragmentation and Silos in Mortality Information Systems: The Case of Ghana and Peru. International Journal of Public Health, 67. https://doi.org/10.3389/IJPH.2022.1604721.
  7. Gayawan, E., Dake, F., Dansou, J., & Ewemooje, O. S. (2022). Spatial Variations in Fertility Desire in West Africa. Spatial Demography, 10(2), 359–385. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40980-021-00088-5.
  8. Christian, A. K., & Dake, F. A. A. (2021). Profiling household double and triple burden of malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa: prevalence and influencing household factors. Public Health Nutrition, 25(6). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980021001750.
  9. Dansou, J., Dake, F. A. A., & Djogbenou, R. Y. (2021). The Routledge Handbook of African Demography. In Before Pills and Injectables (Vol. 30, Issue 4). https://doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2021.1953375.
  10. Dake, F. A. A., & Van Der Wielen, N. (2020). Towards universal access to healthcare for older adults: An assessment of the old-age exemption policy under Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme. International Journal for Equity in Health, 19(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-020-1156-2.
  11. Elleamoh, G. E., & Dake, F. A. A. (2019). “Cementing” marriages through childbearing in subsequent unions: Insights into fertility differentials among first-time married and remarried women in Ghana. PLoS ONE, 14(10), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222994.
  12. Natali, L., Dake, F., & Peterman, A. (2019). marriage and pregnancy among youth in Malawi and Zambia. Innocenti Research Brief, 4(12), 2017–2019.
  13. Dake, F. A. A. (2018). Examining equity in health insurance coverage: An analysis of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme. International Journal for Equity in Health, 17(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-018-0793-1.
  14. Dake, F., Natali, L., Angeles, G., de Hoop, J., Handa, S., & Peterman, A. (2018). Cash Transfers, Early Marriage, and Fertility in Malawi and Zambia. Studies in Family Planning, 49(4), 295–317. https://doi.org/10.1111/sifp.12073.
  15. Dake, F. A. A., & Fuseini, K. (2018). Registered or unregistered? Levels and differentials in registration and certification of births in Ghana. BMC International Health and Human Rights, 18(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12914-018-0163-5.
  16. Dake, F. A. A., Thompson, A. L., Ng, S. W., Agyei-Mensah, S., & Codjoe, S. N. A. (2016). The Local Food Environment and Body Mass Index among the Urban Poor in Accra, Ghana. Journal of Urban Health, 93(3), 438–455. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-016-0044-y.
  17. Dake, F. A. A., & Fuseini, K. (2015). Recreation, transportation or labour saving? Examining the association between household asset ownership and body mass index among Ghanaian women. BMC Obesity, 2(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40608-015-0075-z.
  18. Dake, F. A. A. (2013). Obesity among Ghanaian women: Past prevalence, future incidence. Public Health, 127(6), 590–592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2013.02.012.
  19. Dake, F. A. A., Tawiah, E. O., & Badasu, D. M. (2011). Sociodemographic correlates of obesity among Ghanaian women. Public Health Nutrition, 14(7), 1285–1291. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980010002879.
  20. Tagoe, H. A., & Dake, F. A. A. (2011). Healthy lifestyle behaviour among Ghanaian adults in the phase of a health policy change. Globalization and Health, 7(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-8603-7-7.
  1. Co-PI: Digital Communication to Reinforce Nutrition and Household Resilience in Northern Ghana. Funded by USAID (Value: $591,444). https://basis.ucdavis.edu/project/digital-communication-reinforce-nutrition-and-household-resilience-northern-ghana
  2. Co-PI: NutriShed: Adapting Foodshed Analysis for Nutrition Security Planning. Funded by Agriculture, Nutrition and Health Academy (IMMANA) (Value: £249,923). https://www.anh-academy.org/immana/grants-round-4/nutrished-adapting-foodshed-analysis-for-nutrition-security-planning
  3. Co-PI: Summer Institute in Computational Social Science 2024 (SICSS-Accra) Organizer Grant. Funded by John Templeton Foundation (Value: $8,000). 
  4. Co-PI & Grant Host: Summer Institute in Computational Social Science 2023 SICSS-Accra Organizer Grant. Funded by National Science Foundation (Value: $15,000). 
  5. 2022–2022: PI: Summer Institute in Computational Social Science 2022 SICSS-Covenant Organizer Grant. Funded by Russell Sage Foundation (Value: $12,920). 
  6. Co-PI: Harnessing digital technologies to advance research and knowledge in the South. Funded by INASP (Value: $3,000). 
  7. PI: To walk, ride or drive: an assessment of routine data sources on physical activity and transportation in Accra. Funded by Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund (Value: 5,990 GBP)

Current Courses 

     Masters Level

  • POPS 607 Introduction to Statistical & Computing Techniques
  • POPS 608 Advanced Quantitative Analysis

Previously Taught Courses

    Masters Level

  • POPS 605 Basic Population Analysis
  • POPS 612 Population Estimations & Projections

PhD Level

  • POPS 722 Advanced Population Estimations & Projections

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uVr7QQQAAAAJ&hl=en

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fidelia-Dake

Staff Category
Faculty