• About
  • Become a Climate Reporter
  • Send Us Your Report
  • Submit A News
  • Support Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
Monday, October 6, 2025
NEWSLETTER
Africa Climate Reports
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • CLIMATE CHANGE
  • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
  • FOOD
  • FOREST
  • ENERGY
  • WASH
  • LAND
  • OTHERS
    • FINANCE
    • HEALTH
    • OCEANS
    • TOP STORIES
    • MOST POPULAR
    • COLUMNISTS
    • INTERVIEWS
    • OPINIONS
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEOS
Africa Climate Reports
  • HOME
  • CLIMATE CHANGE
  • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
  • FOOD
  • FOREST
  • ENERGY
  • WASH
  • LAND
  • OTHERS
    • FINANCE
    • HEALTH
    • OCEANS
    • TOP STORIES
    • MOST POPULAR
    • COLUMNISTS
    • INTERVIEWS
    • OPINIONS
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEOS
No Result
View All Result
Africa Climate Reports
No Result
View All Result

Ghana hosts Climate Change Summit to call for urgent action to safeguard Africa’s future

by Jiata Ekele
November 14, 2024
in HEALTH, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
0
Home HEALTH
0
SHARES
12
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Researchers from UoS and UDS with the Ghana Health Services district directorate team in Mion

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

Climate change is threatening the long-term survival of rural African communities, leaving them unable to grow essential crops and unable to access healthcare due to extreme heat or rainfall.

Researchers from the University of Southampton in the UK and the University for Development Studies in Ghana have found that communities report how this situation has significantly worsened in the last five years. They are calling for urgent intervention to secure their health and future.

The University of Southampton, Ghana Ministry of Health and PACKS Africa are co-hosting a summit in Accra, Ghana, on Tuesday 12 March to discuss next steps.

RelatedPosts

Four major Earth system components are losing stability

Tanzania: TAAT and partners Showcase Scalable Solutions for Africa’s Grain Challenges

The research team surveyed hundreds of people in the rural Mion district, in northern Ghana – with every person reporting some level of food insecurity, a lack of access to, or availability of, food. This is often caused by loss of crops or livestock, soil infertility, unpredictable seasonal changes, and pest or disease outbreaks.

The researchers defined food insecurity for over a quarter of respondents as ‘severe’.

Most people had also, on at least one occasion in the last year, been unable to reach their local health facility due to extreme weather conditions.

Jess Boxall, Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, led the study. She said: “The results of our research are concerning, with entire communities reporting fears for their future food security. Our research was conducted in rural northern Ghana, but it’s extremely likely the findings are applicable to other Ghanaian communities – and across the African continent. Urgent short-term and long-term interventions are needed to give these communities a fighting chance.”

The research group has produced recommendations to policymakers, including:

  • food aid programmes providing varied food (not just cereal products, as are currently provided) and storage solutions to protect food aid from flooding
  • improving the transport infrastructure
  • government intervention to diversify crops
  • ensure ongoing health system revisions in Ghana consider access to health facilities
  • education on climate change and climate smart agriculture practices.

The threat to the availability of varied food leads to malnutrition, leading to additional problems.

Dr Michael Head, Senior Research Fellow in Global Health at the University of Southampton, explained: “Malnutrition increases the risk of infection, and with mosquito-related diseases such as malaria and yellow fever both present in Ghana and likely to get worse with climate change, an adequate diet is vital to support the immune system and improve immune response to vaccination.”

Dr Victor Mogre, Associate Professor at the University for Development Studies in Ghana and Visiting Academic at the University of Southampton, said: “In northern Ghana, where food insecurity is already severe, climate change worsens the situation by increasing the likelihood that vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers, will become malnourished.

“This can result in a cycle of malnutrition that spans generations, diminishes productivity, and yields unfavourable economic consequences. Integral to this strategy should be the promotion of climate-smart agriculture awareness among subsistence farmers and the dissemination of nutrition education to the general public regarding the importance of consuming adequate, diversified diets, particularly among vulnerable groups.”

Climate change summit

The researchers are holding a live-streamed summit – Addressing Climate Change and Health – in Accra, Ghana, on Tuesday 12 March 2024.

The event will bring together ministers, charities, academics, industry, health service providers and NGOs to raise awareness of the urgency of the climate change impact on West Africa.

Keynote speakers will include Dr Wisdom Atiwoto, from the Ghana Ministry of Health, and the summit will be chaired by Professor Lydia Aziato, Vice Chancellor of Ghana’s University for Health and Allied Sciences.

Tags: climate changeGhanaHealthsustainable development
ShareTweetSendShare
Jiata Ekele

Jiata Ekele

Jiata Ekele is a Staff Writer at the Africa Climate Reports (ACR).

Related Posts

Four major Earth system components are losing stability
CLIMATE CHANGE

Four major Earth system components are losing stability

October 1, 2025

By Deborah Olaoluwa Four key parts of the Earth’s climate system are destabilising, according to a new study with contributions from the...

Tanzania: TAAT and partners Showcase Scalable Solutions for Africa’s Grain Challenges
CLIMATE CHANGE

Tanzania: TAAT and partners Showcase Scalable Solutions for Africa’s Grain Challenges

October 3, 2025

By Deborah Olaoluwa The Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) and partners led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture...

Next Post
Europe’s greed for Rubber destroys Cameroon’s Rainforest, threatens Indigenous Dwellers Livelihoods

International Day of Forests: Urgent Call for Ghana to repeal Law hindering Innovative Forest Management

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recommended

Four major Earth system components are losing stability

Four major Earth system components are losing stability

5 days ago
Tanzania: TAAT and partners Showcase Scalable Solutions for Africa’s Grain Challenges

Tanzania: TAAT and partners Showcase Scalable Solutions for Africa’s Grain Challenges

6 days ago
Le Bénin relance des projets pour l’utilisation de l’énergie solaire

Le Bénin relance des projets pour l’utilisation de l’énergie solaire

1 week ago
Belém: Countries set new climate targets ahead of COP30

Belém: Countries set new climate targets ahead of COP30

1 week ago
Eco-Bénin: 25 ans consacrés à la nature

Eco-Bénin: 25 ans consacrés à la nature

2 weeks ago
A group photo of African leaders at the Mission 300 event on the sidelines of the 80th UNGA

Ethiopia joins Mission 300 Compact to expand Africa’s power access

2 weeks ago

Popular News

    Social Media

    ABOUT US

    Africa Climate Reports is Africa’s first and largest bilingual journal dedicated to opening new vistas in the coverage and reportage of climate change and the region’s environment. With a multi-lingual team of talented reporters from across the continent, we tell the African climate story in a refreshingly lucid, communally engaging and technically robust manner.

    SITE LINK

    • About
    • Advertise
    • Careers

    OTHER LINKS

    • About
    • Become a Climate Reporter
    • Send Us Your Report
    • Submit A News
    • Support Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us

    NEWSLETTER

    Be the first to get notified when we have something new to share. Get Africa Climate Reports newsletter directly into your email.
    we promise not to spam you!
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Careers

    © 2024 All Rights Reserved- Africa Climate Report - Designed by Prexy

    No Result
    View All Result
    • HOME
    • CLIMATE CHANGE
    • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
    • FOOD
    • FOREST
    • ENERGY
    • WASH
    • LAND
    • OTHERS
      • FINANCE
      • HEALTH
      • OCEANS
      • TOP STORIES
      • MOST POPULAR
      • COLUMNISTS
      • INTERVIEWS
      • OPINIONS
      • PHOTOS
      • VIDEOS

    © 2024 All Rights Reserved- Africa Climate Report - Designed by Prexy