Mr. Cephas Adjei Mensah, Director, Research, Statistics, and Information, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, has advocated coordination between government and non-governmental organisations to advance Ghana’s climate change course.
He said the institutional framework of Ghana’s climate change efforts was currently fragmented and not unified.
The Director was speaking at a presentation at the Climate Change and Health Strategy Workshop organised by Packs Africa.
The workshop served as a critical platform for discussions on climate change management and its impact on health in Ghana and West Africa.
It featured a high-profile expert discussion from diverse disciplines and institutions to address the urgent topic of climate change.
The major themes of the workshop also included a policy session on understanding the changing situation in Ghana on climate change management and generating research priorities for climate change and health.
Mr. Adjei Mensah said the absence of coordination led to fragmented research efforts in policymaking and implementation of Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions on climate change.
“It is important that there is a coordinated effort in the endeavour of climate change to avoid fragmented effort and duplication of duties between the government and non-governmental organisations,” he said.
This will allow all the government agencies and non-governmental agencies to drive at one major goal.
The Director proposed the establishment of a centralised body to coordinate climate change and health research efforts to avoid duplication of efforts.
He also advocated a stronger collaboration with international donors and technical partners, noting that such collaborations would engender international expertise and funding.
Mr. Kirchuffs Atengble, Research and Outreach Lead, Packs Africa, said the workshop provided the required roadmap on policy and research needs of climate change and health in Ghana.
He said the knowledge systems on climate change and health in Ghana were disjointed and individualised, noting that institutions within the climate change ecosystem in Ghana pursued their individualised initiatives.
Thus, he said, the workshop would promote the harmonisation of these knowledge systems on climate change efforts in the country.
He noted that the workshop was “hands-on” as experts offered feasible recommendations, which included strengthening local capacity and funding options for climate change in Ghana.
