DEFINING A DEATH Spirit Children, Infanticide, & the Euthanasia Discourse in Northern Ghana

Dr. Aaron Denham, UCSD Global Health

In Northern Ghana, some infant and child deaths are caused by family members and ritual specialists. In these cases, disabled or ailing infants, those whose births were concurrent with tragic events, or children displaying unusual abilities are viewed as spirit children sent from the forest to destroy the family. Community members, health researchers, and development workers offer diverse interpretations of this infanticide practice, ranging from ritualistic murder to a local form of euthanasia. Based on ethnographic research with Nankani communities, this presentation engages people’s perspectives and moral frameworks concerning spirit children alongside the child rights discourse and interventions used to prolong life.