Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment for Ghana

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 report identifies the impact of climate risks on health and health systems, the adaptive capacities in place to deal with these risks, and the gaps in the adaptive capacities. It also provides recommendations to close the identified gaps. The report adopts the World Health Organization’s (WHO) operational framework for building climate-resilient health systems to analyze Ghana’s adaptive capacity to adequately deal with current and future identified health risks of climate change.