Across Africa’s vibrant landscapes, from the teeming marketplaces to the serene rural farmlands, ladies stand because the unwavering pillars of their communities. They dedicate their lives to nurturing the land, crafting important items, and constructing sustainable companies below the relentless African solar. However, with every passing day, the intensifying warmth poses a major risk to their well being, their livelihoods, and the well-being of their households. For these resilient ladies, local weather change transcends the realm of environmental concern and turns into a deeply private wrestle.
A beacon of hope
Amid these challenges, the PALM-TREEs Project, an modern initiative spearheaded by Sustainable Solutions for Africa (SSA), emerges as a beacon of hope. Recognizing the pressing want to know the human impression of maximum climate occasions, the challenge collaborates intently with ladies and marginalized communities. This collaborative strategy ensures the event of climate-resilient options that prioritize the distinctive wants of those populations and amplify their often-unheard voices. A pivotal second for the challenge occurred in January 2025, with a complete coaching programme held at Accra’s Airport View Hotel.
Laying the groundwork for change
During the intensive coaching program, enumerators underwent rigorous preparation, mastering the set up of i-buttons and the administration of family questionnaires. These meticulous steps have been essential in laying a strong basis for the upcoming knowledge assortment part, underscoring the challenge’s dedication to accuracy and complete understanding.
Addressing the assembled researchers, Namo Lawson, a consultant of Sustainable Solutions for Africa (SSA), emphasised the important significance of exact terminology of their investigative work. She articulated that the core goal of the analysis is to disclose the nuanced methods wherein local weather impacts fluctuate throughout people, influenced by a fancy interaction of things corresponding to socioeconomic standing, geographical location, private id, and the power of group connections. “This focus on intersectionality ensures a more accurate and relevant understanding of the challenges faced,” Ms. Lawson stated.
Unveiling the impression of warmth stress on ladies
Building upon the challenge’s overarching objective, Rachel Yeboah Nketiah, a doctoral candidate on the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), offered a compelling research specializing in the impression of warmth stress on ladies in Accra and their adaptive coping mechanisms.
Her analysis, knowledgeable by an in depth warmth danger map of Accra, gathered important knowledge from 9 susceptible communities recognized as probably the most affected by excessive warmth: James Town, Mallam Atta, Darkuman, Nima, Kanda, Chorkor, Mamobi, Accra New Town, and Kotobabi. “These communities are anticipated to provide invaluable insights into the specific impact of heat stress on women and highlight the diverse adaptation strategies they employ,” she stated.
Methodology and deployment methods
Further elaborating on the challenge’s rigorous strategy, Mr. Francis Balo, representing Sustainable Solutions for Africa (SSA), offered detailed data relating to the pattern dimension allocation for every group. He then offered a complete overview of the questionnaire’s framework, outlining the particular instruments and methods employed for discipline knowledge assortment.
Prior to the precise deployment, the group performed thorough simulation workouts, testing the set up of i-button sensors throughout 27 small enterprise facilities and households to make sure accuracy and effectivity within the knowledge assortment course of.
Striving for an equitable and sustainable future
The PALM-TREEs Project, via its meticulous analysis and community-centered strategy, is devoted to investigating the multifaceted impression of local weather change on ladies in Accra, Ghana. By highlighting the disproportionate results of warmth stress on ladies’s well being, livelihoods, and total well-being, the challenge aligns its objectives with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 3, 5, and 13).
Ultimately, the challenge aspires to tell the event of efficient climate-resilient options and amplify the voices of girls, fostering a extra equitable and sustainable future for all. In recognizing that local weather change magnifies present gender inequalities, significantly impacting ladies in roles corresponding to water assortment and smallholder farming, the challenge goals to handle the core points at hand. By empowering ladies to adapt to the altering local weather, the PALM-TREEs Project contributes to a future the place ladies can thrive regardless of the growing environmental challenges.
By Afia Agyapomaa Ofosu