By Edward Williams
Hohoe (V/R), June 6, GNA – The African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN), has called on government institutions to strengthen policies and investments that promote environmental protection, climate resilience, and public health.
The Network also urged local authorities to prioritise waste management, drainage maintenance, and environmental sanitation in communities.
Dr Charity Binka, Executive Secretary (AMMREN) in a press statement to mark the 2026 World Environment Day and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said traditional and religious leaders must also champion environmental conservation and sustainable practices while the media increased reportage on climate change, environmental health, and community driven solutions.
She said Civil Society Organizations must intensify public education and advocacy for environmental justice while citizens must adopt environmentally responsible behaviours, including tree planting, proper waste disposal, water conservation, and protection of natural ecosystems.
Dr Binka noted that everyone must recommit themselves to safeguarding the environment, strengthening climate resilience and promoting healthier communities across Ghana and Africa, adding that “when we protect nature, we protect health, when we act on climate, we secure our future.”
She said the theme; “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future”, reminded all persons that nature remained the greatest ally in the fight against climate change.
“Healthy forests, clean rivers, fertile soils, wetlands, and thriving ecosystems not only sustain life but also serve as natural solutions to many of the environmental and public health challenges confronting humanity today.”
Dr Binka said AMMREN as an organisation that was committed to advancing public health through evidence-based advocacy, strategic communication, and media engagement, recognised the strong and inseparable link between environmental sustainability, climate resilience, and human health.
She said climate change was not only an environmental issue but is increasingly becoming a public health emergency that disproportionately affected vulnerable populations, particularly women, children, and low-income communities.
Dr Binka said across Ghana and many parts of Africa, rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, floods, droughts, and environmental degradation were contributing to increased disease burdens, food insecurity, displacement, and loss of livelihoods.
She said climate variability also affected the transmission patterns of vector-borne diseases such as malaria, placing millions of people at heightened risk and added that recent environmental destruction resulting from deforestation, pollution, poor waste management, and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources continued to undermine efforts to build healthy and resilient communities.
“The pollution of water bodies through illegal mining activities, indiscriminate disposal of waste, and destruction of wetlands threatens both environmental integrity and public health outcomes.”
Dr Binka said poor sanitation and choked drains created breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other disease vectors, increasing the risk of malaria and other communicable diseases hence, the fight against climate change and environmental degradation must be recognized as an integral component of disease prevention and health promotion.
“AMMREN believes that nature-based solutions offer practical, sustainable, and cost-effective approaches to climate adaptation and mitigation. Protecting forests, restoring degraded landscapes, conserving biodiversity, safeguarding water resources, and promoting climate smart agricultural practices are essential investments in our collective future,” the statement said.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Edward Williams