By Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu
Yarigabisi (U/E), Nov. 2, GNA – The Ingraining Development for Empowerment and Advancement of Society (IDEAS Ghana), a non-governmental organisation, has launched a one-year pilot project to help communities in the Upper East Region adapt to the growing effects of climate change, particularly extreme heat and air pollution.
The project, being implemented in Yarigabisi in the Bolgatanga East District, seeks to strengthen community resilience through early warning systems, improved housing conditions and climate-friendly interventions in health, education and livelihoods.
Dr Joseph Ayembilla, the Executive Director of IDEAS Ghana, said the initiative, being implemented with funding support from the Sanofi Foundation of France, was designed to protect vulnerable populations, particularly pregnant women, children and the aged, from health risks associated with rising temperatures and air pollution.
Speaking at the launch at Yarigabisi, he said sensors had been installed at nine locations, including the community’s health facility, cluster of schools and seven other zones, to monitor heat levels and air quality.
He said the sensors would generate weekly alerts on the severity of heat and air pollution, which would be communicated to trained community members to guide residents to take appropriate preventive measures.
Dr Ayembilla said five women from the community were trained as ‘women citizen scientists’ to receive and communicate the alerts, to enable residents to make informed decisions, including when to travel, seek shade or increase their water intake.
“Most people go to hospital with heat-related illnesses, which are not detected, and they treat them for different illnesses. We also want the health facility to understand that when people come there, they should begin to investigate whether it is heat-related,” he said.
As part of measures to protect vulnerable households, Dr Ayembilla said the project would support 50 households, particularly those occupied by older persons and pregnant women, with roof retrofitting using special reflective paint to reduce indoor temperatures and explained that the intervention was necessary as some people suffered or died from heat stress without recognizing the cause.
In the education sector, he said the project would introduce solar-powered cooling fans at the Yarigabisi Primary School to improve classroom conditions and create a more conducive learning environment for pupils during periods of extreme heat.
The Executive Director said the project would further support women engaged in trading perishable agricultural produce through the establishment of a cooling hub at the community market.
The facility would comprise a cooling system within the market shed to provide a more comfortable trading environment, alongside a cold-storage facility where traders could preserve unsold vegetables, including tomatoes and onions, for longer periods.
Dr Ayembilla said the one-year pilot, expected to end in July 2027, would provide opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the interventions before considering expansion to other communities in the district and the region.
He noted that similar interventions had been implemented in countries such as Uganda, Malawi and Kenya, and stressed the need for practical solutions to climate change beyond long-term measures such as tree planting, “Trees will take over after three years to be able to provide shade. So, the cooling roof and the cooling solar systems are very important.” he said.
Dr Ayembilla added that equipping communities with knowledge about heat severity and air pollution would help residents change their behaviour and adopt appropriate coping strategies.
He said community ownership was central to the project, adding that the sensors were deliberately installed within the community to encourage residents to take responsibility for monitoring and managing the system.
Dr Ayembilla said IDEAS Ghana was established in 2021 to promote sustainable, community-owned development, and that the organisation’s philosophy was to empower communities to take ownership of development initiatives rather than create dependency on external support
He acknowledged the support of the Sanofi Foundation of France, the Ghana Health Service (GHS), the Ghana Education Service and the traditional authorities of Yarigabisi, describing their involvement as critical to the successful implementation of the project.
Dr Braimah Baba Abubakari, the Upper East Regional Director of the GHS, in a speech read on his behalf, said the launch of the SmartSHEAR Project represented an important opportunity to strengthen the connection between environmental protection, public health, and community development, and added that the project would improve the wellbeing of the people of Yarigabisi and the region as a whole, and that the benefits would inspire further action towards a healthier, safer, and more climate-resilient Ghana.
Mr Jacob Abugri Aka–Eri, the Bolgatanga East District Chief Executive (DCE), in a speech read on his behalf, noted that climate change was not only an environmental issue, but also developmental, “As an Assembly, climate change has had direct impact on our programmes and service in several ways. Climate change has caused severe disruption critical infrastructure and service delivery.
“Roads are destroyed by torrential rains, making movement stressful for citizens, rainstorms have removed the roofs of schools and Assemblies have always had to spend their Common Fund or IGF on a yearly basis to damages instead of starting news projects. Climate change renders our planning and budget ineffective,” he said.
The DCE said the Assembly was working with other government organizations including the Department of Agriculture, the Ghana Metrological Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) to provide early warning signs to residents.
Madam Vida Atinga, Leader of the ‘Women Citizen Scientists’ in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after the launch, said they were willing and ready to collect accurate data to reflect the true situation on the ground to inform policy and decision, and thanked leadership of IDEAS-Ghana on behalf of her colleagues for the opportunity.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali /Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu
Reporter’s email: [email protected]