Abstract

This article examines the emergence and expansion of Keep Fit clubs in Ghana and analyses their role in fostering social cohesion, health promotion, and local development; framing recent advocacy by public figures such as Hon Julius Debrah as a contemporary policy and community-practice nexus.

Drawing on policy announcements, media reporting, and peer- reviewed studies of sport and community health in Ghana, the paper argues that organized, low-cost physical-activity groups (keep-fit clubs, walking groups, community sports days) function as inexpensive yet powerful social infrastructure that can bridge ethnic, generational, and socioeconomic divides if supported by clear policy, inclusive design, and community leadership. Introduction

On many Saturday mornings across Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, Cape Coast, Sunyani, Koforidua, Tamale, Wa, and in other cities and towns around Ghana, people from diverse backgrounds lace up trainers and gather for a brisk walk, an aerobics session, or a community soccer game.

These gatherings; often organized informally as Keep Fit clubs, walking groups, or by longstanding institutions such as El-Wak Keep Fit do more than improve cardiovascular health.

They create public space for interaction, conversation, and mutual support, developing habits and social ties that matter for both individual well-being and communal resilience (El-Wak Keep Fit).

In recent months and years, national public servants and policymakers have underscored this potential: Julius Debrah, Ghana’s Chief of Staff, has publicly championed walking and organized fitness events as part of a broader health-and-unity message, linking personal fitness to national cohesion. (Elwak Keep Fit Club)

Background: Keep Fit Clubs in Ghana — origins and policy context

“Keep Fit” as a public phenomenon in Ghana predates the current decade. Media reporting and government statements from the 2010s show formal interest from ministries (Youth & Sports, Health) to encourage the formation of Keep Fit clubs in regional capitals, districts, and schools as a vehicle for public health promotion.

Grassroots clubs such as El-Wak Keep Fit predate or parallel such policy interest; they demonstrate how local civic leadership (including civil servants, retired professionals, and faith or occupational groups) can sustain recurring fitness activities that accumulate social capital over time.

More recently, sport and community-health policy discourse in Ghana has emphasized the potential for community sport and physical activity to contribute to social inclusion and local economic stimulus—especially when public bodies coordinate with NGOs and community associations (policy briefs and academic analyses of sport implementation reveal persistent implementation gaps but strong design potential).

Why Keep Fit clubs build social cohesion: theorising the mechanisms

Social cohesion refers to the quality of relationships within a community: trust, reciprocity, shared identity, and capacity to act collectively (Putnam, 2000; local sport-development literature).

Keep Fit clubs foster cohesion through several interlocking mechanisms:

1. Regular, structured social contact. Weekly walks and classes produce repeated inter- personal encounters—essential for trust and network formation.

2. Cross-cutting ties. Fitness groups often bring together people who would not otherwise meet (different ages, occupations, ethnicities), reducing social distance and stereotyping.

3. Collective rhythm and rituals. Shared routines (warm-ups, post-walk refreshments) create group identity and rituals that cement belonging.

4. Low barriers to entry. Because walking and group calisthenics are low cost and require little equipment, they can include lower-income participants more readily than organized club sports requiring fees or gear.

5. Publicness and visibility. Outdoor activity reclaims public spaces (parks, stadia, beaches), signalling communal claim to civic life and enabling chance encounters across neighbourhoods.

Empirical work from Ghana and comparable contexts supports these mechanisms: community physical-activity initiatives have been used intentionally to bring groups together and to build civic trust in settings where formal institutions alone struggle to do so.

Evidence from Ghana: health, inclusion, and social outcomes

While the literature on “Keep Fit clubs” specifically in Ghana remains emergent, several relevant strands of evidence point toward positive outcomes:

• Increased participation and market growth. Ghana has seen growth in gyms, keep- fit clubs, and community fitness events since the 2010s—indicative of rising demand for group physical activity and associated communal spaces (feature reporting and market surveys).

• Perceptions of fitness services. A 2023 study of Ghanaian clients’ perceptions of fitness instructors and service delivery found growing patronage and diverse motivations; health, socialization, and wellbeing which suggests Keep Fit clubs meet both health and social needs. (PMC)

• Community sport for social inclusion. Case studies of community health games and GPAN (Ghana Physical Activity Network) initiatives show that community events using sport and play have successfully mobilized cross-community participation and civic dialogue.

These events are not a panacea but have measurable effects on contact across groups and local cooperation.

At the same time, systematic reviews and policy analyses note important caveats: unequal access (women and girls often face cultural and structural barriers), inconsistent funding, and weak institutional coordination can limit impact unless programs are explicitly inclusive and resourced (Charway, 2024; sport inclusion policy analyses).

The Julius Debrah Agenda: public leadership, symbolism, and policy leverage Public leadership matters.

When recognizable leaders; political officeholders, religious figures, or local celebrities participate visibly in Keep Fit activities, they confer symbolic weight that can normalize and scale participation.

Julius Debrah’s recurring public walks and calls for walking as “a tool for healthy living, unity, and national progress” are a case in point: such acts simultaneously promote a behavioural norm (walk for health) and attach an explicit civic frame (walking as a unifying national act). Media outlets and chief-of-staff engagements have amplified these messages, connecting personal fitness with national narratives of unity and progress.

Leadership alone is not sufficient: to convert public enthusiasm into lasting social cohesion requires policy scaffolding; financial support for community organising, safe public spaces for activity, gender-sensitive programming, and monitoring of inclusion outcomes. Ghana’s ministry announcements from 2014 proposed establishing nationwide

Keep Fit clubs in regional and district centres and schools an early policy template that could be revived and adapted to current priorities. Practical design principles for Keep Fit clubs with cohesion outcomes.

To maximise social-cohesion effects, Keep Fit clubs should be designed with intentionality.

Below are practical principles, drawn from Ghanaian practice and sport-for-development literature:

1. Deliberate inclusion: schedule sessions at times accessible to women, older adults, and shift workers; provide women-only sessions where cultural contexts require them.

2. Low or no cost access: eliminate or subsidize fees; partner with local businesses or district assemblies to underwrite basic logistics (first aid, water). (allAfrica.com)

3. Public-space partnerships: coordinate with municipal authorities to secure parks, stadia, beaches and market squares for activity; invest in lighting and safety. (SOCO Project)

4. Volunteer leadership + small grants: train community volunteers as facilitators and provide micro-grants for starter kits (megaphone, mats, simple audio). (ResearchGate)

5. Cross-group programming: design events that combine fitness with civic conversations, health screening stalls, or markets—creating multiple incentives for diverse attendance. (sportanddev)

6. Monitoring inclusion: collect simple demographic attendance data (age, gender, locality) and run periodic perception surveys to ensure the clubs are not replicating existing inequalities. (PMC)

Challenges and limits

Despite promise, Keep Fit initiatives face obstacles:

• Sustainability and funding. Volunteer energy can wane without modest financial support or institutional backing. Governments often announce programs but struggle to move from pilot events to sustained local funding. (Modern Ghana)

4 • Inclusion gaps. Cultural norms, caregiving responsibilities, and safety concerns reduce access for many women and people with disabilities unless intentionally addressed. (SAGE Journals)

• Measurement. Robust evidence linking Keep Fit club participation to long-term social cohesion (trust, vertical civic engagement, reduced intergroup conflict) is limited; many studies offer plausible pathways but not causal proof. There is a clear need for longitudinal and mixed-method evaluations. (ResearchGate)

Recommendations

For policymakers, civil society, and community leaders who wish to adopt a Julius Debrah- style national Keep Fit agenda focused on cohesion, We offer six pragmatic recommendations:

1. National framework with local flexibility.

Re-establish a national Keep Fit framework (policy, starter grants, training) while giving districts flexibility to tailor activities to local contexts. (Modern Ghana)

2. Equity targets and monitoring.

Make inclusion (gender parity, youth engagement, disability access) explicit in funding criteria; require simple reporting. (SAGE Journals)

3. Leader-to-community pipelines.

Use high-visibility leaders to catalyse interest, but pair symbolic acts with small, sustained investments in community organisers and safe spaces. (GBC Ghana Online)

4. Integrate health and economic activities.

Combine fitness sessions with health screenings, micro-enterprise stalls, or skills demonstrations so events provide compound benefits. (sportanddev)

5. Research partnerships. Fund universities and NGOs to run mixed-methods evaluations that measure both health and cohesion outcomes over time to build an

6. evidence base for scale-up.(PMC)

Religious leaders, particularly within churches, have a unique influence on the daily lives, values, and behaviours of their congregants. To promote national health and contribute to the revival of Ghana’s fitness culture, churches are encouraged to integrate keep-fit walks and regular exercise into their community programmes.

By framing physical activity as a form of stewardship of the body; a “temple of God” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20) leaders can inspire members to embrace fitness as both a spiritual and social responsibility.

Churches could organise monthly or quarterly “Faith and Fitness Walks”, combining prayer, fellowship, and light exercise to strengthen both spiritual and physical well-being.

These events can be structured to include health education, medical screenings, and fun sporting activities for youth and adults alike.

Beyond improving health outcomes, such initiatives will foster stronger bonds among members, encourage discipline, and contribute to community unity.

Importantly, by publicly endorsing and modelling participation in exercise, pastors and church leaders will normalise active lifestyles, reduce stigma around fitness, and complement national campaigns for healthier citizens.

In this way, churches can become vital partners in national development — promoting wellness, reducing the burden of lifestyle-related diseases, and rekindling Ghana’s collective enthusiasm for active living and sport.

Conclusion: human stories and national potential

Beyond policy briefs and programmatic frameworks, the heart of a Keep Fit agenda is human: the elderly man who uses his morning walk to exchange news with neighbours; the young mother who found a supportive circle and child-minding swap while exercising; the neighbour- stranger who becomes a civic ally after months of side-by-side aerobics.

These small, quotidian encounters add up. If guided intentionally, Keep Fit clubs can be both a pragmatic public-health tool and a low-cost civic investment; advancing the twin national goals of healthier citizens and a more cohesive Ghana.

Julius Debrah’s public advocacy taps into this dual promise: when leaders walk with their citizens, they symbolically and practically invite the nation to come together step by step. (GBC Ghana Online)