With new measures in place, the MIGNEX survey kicks off in Ghana

In February of this year, the MIGNEX survey team piloted the survey in Afghanistan, Cabo Verde and Ghana, with the aim to run the survey from June to December 2020. Lockdown and travel restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic halted those plans, giving us an opportunity to invest in the detailed development of survey protocols and preparations.

In Ghana the COVID-19 situation has now improved, and national restrictions have been reduced, allowing us to commence with the MIGNEX survey in three research areas: Gbane, Golf City and New Takoradi. Additional precautionary measures have been put in place to reduce the risk of the field team and respondents becoming infected with the coronavirus. This includes travelling in smaller teams, wearing masks and using hand sanitiser during data collection. The field team are also offering masks and sanitiser to all respondents and applying social distancing (i.e. physical distancing) in interviews.

The Research Leads in Ghana have also taken out personal health insurance for each member of the research team prior to commencing fieldwork. The enumerator training consisted of online training for all components that did not require in-person interaction, as well as three days of physically-distanced in-person training, including a field test.

We are starting to make tentative plans for resuming the survey in the other nine countries. Timings are dependent on the country-specific COVID-19 situation, the need for international travel and national and institutional restrictions. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.