New World Bank report shows worsening impact of climate change on health in Ghana

With insufficient health facilities to provide for the health needs of Ghanaians, the growing negative impacts of climate change on health in the country is disturbing. While the country has continued to make strides in reducing some disease burdens like malaria, guinea worm infestation and conditions such as maternal and child mortality over all, a new report by the World Bank on the impacts of climate change on health in the country gives cause for concern.

The report titled ‘Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment for Ghana Report’ which was released Tuesday April 30, 2024 and describes Ghana as a ‘climate hotspot’, finds that air pollution in the country is six times above the World Health Organisation (WHO) allowable limits and between 2009 and 2019, as a result of climate change effects, malaria has been the major communicable disease in the country and still the leading cause of death among children under the age of five years.

“Ghana is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Climate change impacts the epidemiology of climate-sensitive infectious diseases such as malaria and diarrhea, which are estimated to be the first and eighth most common causes of death in Ghana. Additionally, malnutrition and air pollution, also sensitive to climate change, have been identified as the top two risk factors contributing to death and disability in the country,” the report said.

Speaking at the launch, the lead author of the report Prof Mawuli Dzodzomenyo of the School of Public Health, University of Ghana, said the leading causes of death in the country as a result of the effects of climate change are air pollution and malnutrition.

Additionally, the study found that due to climate change, sea levels are rising in the country and it projected that sea levels will continue to rise higher, and would continue to impact food security that would leave about two million Ghanaians vulnerable to food insecurity.

The report notes that due to global warming, the climate in most regions, especially Africa, is predicted to become more variable, and extreme weather events are expected to be more frequent and severe. These include increasing risks of droughts, flooding, and inundation due to sea-level rise in the continent’s coastal areas, potentially reducing economic prospects and national development.

“It will be imperative for countries to mitigate and adapt to these changing climatic conditions. To succeed, the potential impacts of climate change and variability must be identified along with the country’s capacity to adapt and the means to overcome barriers to successful adaptation. This climate and health vulnerability assessment (CHVA) aims to assist decision-makers in Ghana with planning effective adaptation measures to deal with climate-related health risks,” the authors said.

The report established that in the past 50 years, 22 major hydrometeorological events in Ghana have affected 16 million people, directly causing over 400 deaths.

It noted also that six climate hazards associated with extreme events can be identified in Ghana. These are: droughts, earthquakes, epidemics, floods, wildfires, and storms.

“There have been 19 significant flood events in the past five decades; despite declining projected average rainfall, heavy rainfall events are expected to increase in Ghana, resulting in flooding, flash floods, and riverbank erosion. Additionally, sea-level rise in the country is resulting in sea erosion and flooding along the coastal stretch and is pervasive on the eastern coast along the Volta delta, affecting communities along the coast,” it said.

It further notes that three drought events have occurred in Ghana in the past five decades with varying degrees of impact. “Both floods and droughts pose a significant threat to the agricultural sector, with the most immediate consequence being a decrease in the production of staple crops and a negative impact on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers,” it said.

The report

Climate Change Health Vulnerabilities Report 

The report states that dimensions of poverty, gender, age, urban-rural residence, occupation, and disability can characterize population sub-groups that are most vulnerable to the impact of climate change.

It said the elderly, women, children, the chronically ill, the socially isolated (for example, disabled, ethnic minorities, and migrants), and at-risk occupational groups are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts.

It added that relative to other parts of the country, the northern part of Ghana greatly relies on subsistence farming. Thus, it is prone to food insecurity due to the damaging effect of frequent exposure to extreme rainfall and flood events on crop yields.

“Additionally, poverty rates are higher in the northern region, reducing the ability to adapt to climate change and exacerbating its impact. Women, particularly poor women, are more likely to be victims of direct impacts of extreme climate events and are disproportionately affected by food and water insecurity in households,” it said.

The report further found that pregnant women are also particularly susceptible to malaria, resulting in maternal anemia.

In Ghana, the drivers of migration, particularly in rural areas, are linked to the impacts of climate change on the sustainability of agrarian livelihoods. The level of vulnerability is higher in rural areas compared to urban due to fewer resources and lower adaptive capacity. Women are disproportionately affected, particularly within rural communities. Heat stress and high levels of physical labor disproportionately impact farmers and miners, it added.

Among other things the authors of the report have made some recommendations including the following: Urged the authorities to undertake dialogue, development, and implementation of the National Plan of Action for Building a Climate Resilient Health Sector in Ghana, 2015-2025; Integrate its objectives and activities into climate change policies emerging from other sectors to allow alignment; Integrate climate-related impacts into health workforce planning: Including planning for the size of the health workforce, the skill mixes, and the geographical distribution, particularly urban-rural disparities, to meet expected health needs.

By Emmanuel K Dogbevi
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