Climate Change and Human Health In Accra, Ghana - Final Technical Report

Abstract

Climate change poses an increasingly recognizable threat to the livelihoods and well being of Ghanaians. In agricultural areas, the degradation of soils and water resources, and the escalation of droughts have contributed to the deterioration of livelihoods. This has resulted in farming families sending one or more of their barely-adult offspring to urban areas. These migrations contribute to fuelling the urban proliferation in sub-Saharan Africa, currently the fastest urbanizing continent in the world. Urbanization is therefore creating slums encumbered by poor sanitation, rampant malaria, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, unemployment, and crime. At the same time urban dwellers are more likely to be exposed to the risks of floods, and other climatic conditions...