Climate change and health project takes off in Bongo district

A nine-member steering committee tasked to oversee the implementation of a climate change and health combat strategy has been inaugurated in Bongo District in the Upper East Region. The committee which has as its chairman the District Chief Executive will be responsible for designing activities and facilitating implementation to mitigate the health effects of the perilous phenomenon in the district.
The program is under the support of the United Nation Development Program (UNDP) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service.
Addressing stakeholders shortly before the inauguration of the committee, the District Director of Health Services, Madam Juliana Akugre Anam-ereme, said the choice of Bongo district as one of the implementation sites brings joy and relief to health authorities in the district considering the benefits the project hopes to bring to the population in respect of community health and development.
She disclosed that Bongo is one of the districts in the Upper East Region severely affected by the impact of climate change. She mentioned some of the manifestations of the phenomenon in the district to include the recent time floods and the outbreaks of cerebral spinal meningitis (CSM) and said it was good news therefore to receive support to address the challenges.
The District Director related with sadness that despite increasing understanding of the health risks of climate change the country’s response in terms of policies and strategies so far has been slow and uncoordinated thereby allowing more and more communities to slip into the grip of the worsening climatic conditions. Madam Juliana observed that many disease causing pathogens have found the drastic climatic changes conducive for multiplying and diversifying rendering interventions put in place by authorities ineffective.
She said in the Bongo district cases of some of the diseases most favored by the impact of climate change including malaria and diarrheas have not only been on the surge in recent times but have also become more prevalent throughout the year thereby causing a lot of havoc in the population and fueling poverty. Madam Juliana hinted that through the project the District Health Directorate working in conjunction with the District Assembly, Community Leaders and Health Volunteers hopes to increase knowledge and understanding of climate change and its effects among communities as well as step up efforts towards the identification, strategy development and implementation all in the bid to keep under control all health related challenges of climate change.
A representative of the UNDP Mr. Joe Apiah said the program is being piloted in three districts in the country namely: Bongo, Gomoa West and Keta and focuses on building community resilience to climate change. The Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area: Naba, Baba Salifu Atamale expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Health and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for initiating the program and pledged his commitment to support the Ghana Health Service for its successful implementation.
The District Disease Control Officer and Focal Person for the program Mr. Donatus Abane stated that the program contains a number of strategies and interventions including malaria control, re-afforestation community sensitization.