School of Public Service and Governance, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Accra, Ghana.
National Blood Services, Accra, Ghana.
ScientificWorldJournal. 2020 Nov 25;2020:3167317. doi: 10.1155/2020/3167317. eCollection 2020.
Climate change is a serious challenge to human existence. It threatens efforts towards the attainment of sustainable development goals and aggravates conditions that lead to health inequities and inequalities for vulnerable populations. The study aimed to investigate knowledge and adaptation to climate change among people in Ghana. A nationally representative survey of Ghanaian adults ( = 674) was conducted from August 1, 2019, to December 31, 2019. Results showed that 43.9% of the respondents understood the meaning of climate change. Respondents perceived the causes of climate change to include burning of fossil fuel, deforestation, natural events such as ocean currents, carbon emission from vehicles and industries, agricultural emissions of nitrous oxide from fertilizers, and an act of God. About 53.1% and 41% of the male and female respondents, respectively, had an encounter with climate change-induced natural disasters. About two out of five respondents (43%) were either afraid or confused about climate change. Distilled or maintained public drainage from waste (30.2%) and clearing drains (25.6%) was the leading adaptation strategies towards climate change-induced natural disasters. Training (30.1%), national radio (27.7%), and television (19.1%) were the preferred leading methods for receipt of global warming information. These findings provide useful insights for policy directions. The government of Ghana and other stakeholders should develop a communication strategy to increase and sustain publicity and education on climate change to the citizenry.
气候变化是对人类生存的严重挑战。它威胁到实现可持续发展目标的努力，并加剧了导致弱势群体健康不平等和不平等的条件。本研究旨在调查加纳人民对气候变化的认识和适应情况。2019 年 8 月 1 日至 12 月 31 日，对加纳成年人（ = 674）进行了全国代表性调查。结果表明，43.9%的受访者理解气候变化的含义。受访者认为气候变化的原因包括燃烧化石燃料、森林砍伐、自然事件如洋流、车辆和工业的碳排放、肥料中一氧化二氮的农业排放以及上帝的行为。约 53.1%和 41%的男性和女性受访者分别遭遇过气候变化引发的自然灾害。约五分之二的受访者（43%）对气候变化感到害怕或困惑。从废物中提取或维护公共排水（30.2%）和清理排水（25.6%）是应对气候变化引发的自然灾害的主要适应策略。培训（30.1%）、国家广播（27.7%）和电视（19.1%）是接收全球变暖信息的首选主要方法。这些发现为政策方向提供了有用的见解。加纳政府和其他利益相关者应制定一项沟通策略，向公民宣传和教育气候变化，以提高和维持对气候变化的认识。
