Ghana And Climate Change
Mzuzah’s projection of its CSR medical intervention programs in Ghana serves the important purpose of securing the lives of the people who are affected by unhygienic circumstances in developing/emerging economies. Ghana/Western Africa forms a significant demographic focus for Mzuzah, especially in relation to the adverse impacts of climate change and the extent of sustainable development there. This year’s convergence (convergence 2022) is set to happen in Ghana as well. Hence, it is noteworthy to be informed about the climate change profile of this country in West Africa in order to grasp a better understanding of Mzuzah’s projects there.
Having been one of the rapidly growing economies in the African continent, Ghana made great strides in economic development based on the high commodity prices and the available offshore oil wealth. However, the persistence of this growth plunged when the 14 percent GDP growth in 2011diminshed to just 3.9 percent in 2015. A part of this diminution can be attributed to the capricious climate trends that have affected the ecological zones of Ghana adversely. The negative repercussions, emerging from the climatic conditions there, directly impact the prospects for economic development because Ghana’s economy depends largely on climate-sensitive elements like forestry, agriculture, and energy.
Alarmingly, every decade, the temperature in Ghana is rising by 0.21 C with some regions mounting up to 41 C. The rapid increase in temperature is directly linked to the greenhouse gas emissions; while Ghana was known to be a carbon sink with its diverse forest area, the contrary is true for the 21st century because the population growth, bringing economic development in an unsustainable manner, has resulted in high emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), moving up to 24 mega-tonnes of Carbon dioxide. Hence, erratic weather patterns with rising sea levels, pervasive yet unpredictable droughts, and lower precipitation rates insinuate a gloom-ridden growth of these sectors, directly influencing the livelihoods of the affected people.
Importantly, these climate patterns affect the natural resources, human communities, and infrastructure altogether. “These changes also influence vector borne infections, with significant increases in the incidence of climate-sensitive diseases such as malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and meningitis.” In fact, there have been recent large-scale cholera outbreaks, especially in 2014 when almost 15,000 cases were reported in some of the 10 regions of the country. One climate-change-induced factor can affect an array of sectors; consider frequent floods, they pose an instant threat to road construction, transport, food, agriculture, sanitation, and social protection.
Hence, economic, social, and health advancements are all influenced by a certain erratic climatic condition. With such climate change implications in place, the growing season has shortened because rain-fed agriculture cannot be sustained with most people migrating to the south where the instances of floods are comparatively lower, though not absent.
It is essential to understand that seafood forms a significant diet for Ghanaians, contributing to 40 to 60 percent of the protein consumed by the population. With freshwater and marine fisheries in danger from the increases in sea temperature, the migratory patterns of several water species have altered, making marine an undependable economic and food sector. Moreover, water basins like the Volta Lake suffer from a shortage of water with one study indicating that the water flows could fall by 24 percent by 2050 and 45 percent by 2100 due to reduced rainfall and increased evaporation. This, inevitably, affects the hydropower generation which is all manifested in the periodic power outages; in fact, in 2015 power was cut off for 36 hours, affecting GDP growth to fall to 3.9 percent in 2015 from 8.8 percent in 2012.
A positive lens to the effects of global climate crisis in Ghana has been the mitigation efforts of climate change adaptation projects in West Africa. These programs include but are not limited to Climate Change Adaptation of Argo Ecosystem in Ghana, Ghana Climate Innovation Center, Advocacy and Capacity for Disaster Risk Reduction and preparedness, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in Disaster-Prone Communities in Northern Ghana, Integrated Resource and Resilience Planning, etc. However, objectives like increased resilience to the impacts of the climate crisis, implementation of environmental sanitation, agricultural diversification or enhanced resource management of fisheries is possible, largely, through information, communication, and Education. What needs to be instilled in people is awareness of climate change, and hoe it is “everybody’s business.” Essentially, climate change education can happen at numerous levels. For example, communication programs can be established for public servants, concept of sustainable development can be included into the formal and informal educational curriculum, and most importantly, teachers can act as distribution networks for disseminating knowledge related to disaster management and climate preparedness.
Mzuzah recognizes the gravity of the climate crisis and its pessimistic repercussions in Ghana, and that serves the important purpose for Mzuzah to undertake sustainability development projects in Ghana. The CSR project related to dental and medical check-ups by Mzuzah team ensures that there is an adequate physical examination as well as mini-dental-checkup of children using equipments like nose mask, wooden spatula, etc. Hence, close-touch support to the underserved orphanages including their medical needs is met through this initiative. Moreover, the sustainable project competitions conducted by Mzuzah, naturally, bring innovative sustainable solutions to the surface. For instance, the students in Ghana came up with the and Construction of a Solar Cooker, Eco-fresh Sanitary Pads, Enva-Clean Brikets, Solar Powered Domestic Iron, all promoting sustainability.