Ghana was ranked 114 out of 185 countries for its vulnerability to climate change in 2021 by the Notre Dam Global Adaptation Initiative.

The country is also projected to lose US$325 million by 2025 due to drought as a result of climate change as the country heavily depends on agriculture, a highly climate-sensitive sector.

To contribute to mitigate the impact, the Canadian government has initiated the Strengthening Investments in Gender-Responsive Climate Adaptation (SIGRA) project.

The CAD10.5 million SIGRA project seeks to advance climate action and inclusive governance in Ghana to improve the climate resilience of Ghanaians, especially females, children and vulnerable groups.

The five-year project administered by Cowater would see an increased investment in inclusive and gender-responsive climate adaptation initiatives in five districts, in the Volta and Northern regions.

The project is being implemented in Mion, Nanumba South, Kumbungu, Akatsi, and Anloga Districts. These districts were selected based on their economic vulnerability and climate change risks.

The SIGRA Project Director, Geoffrey Groleau said Ghana was chosen based on the strength of its decentralized system because local governance plays a pivotal role in climate adaptation.

He added that the project would key collaborations with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and some national agencies to strengthen national policies on climate change and also support the national adaptation process.

“We also support the Regional Coordinating Council and key agencies that are represented at this level, because this is the level that needs to be doing the backstopping with the districts. The Districts do not have all the technical knowledge.

"They already have a lot of things to do and they do not have all the detailed technical knowledge, but the EPA for example sits at the regional level and they can come and support the districts”, he said.

Mr. Groleau said that the climate adaptation needs of women, children, and vulnerable groups would be collated into a project with funding from SIGRA to help the affected groups and communities adapt to climate change.

He added that women-led civil society organizations and community groups would act as intermediaries between the District Assemblies and the affected groups to ensure the identified climate adaptation needs are met in the right priority order.

He underscored Ghana’s climate vulnerability and urged community leaders to put pressure on the government to respond to climate change, by effectively implementing the various policies.

“I think Ghana has adopted very strong policies, but the key gap is the implementation, sometimes it is capacity, other times it is resources, like financial resources”, he added.

The Volta Regional Coordinating Director, Augustus Kwaku Awity stressed his outfit's support for the successful implementation of the project.