Climate Change and Cerebrospinal Meningitis in the Ghanaian Meningitis Belt
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Overview of Cerebrospinal Meningitis
1.2. Cerebrospinal Meningitis in Ghana
1.3. Study Area
2. Methodology
2.1. Data
2.2. Method of Analysis
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Public Perceptions of Climate Change and CSM Prevalence
The weather is now not stable and I cannot predict when the seasons will start and end. Some years ago, the rains would start in early May as the latest and end in October, then the harmattan season will start in October and end around February, and the dry season continues from March to late May. But now I cannot tell. This is seriously affecting us. Because we rely on the rains for farming and the dry season to sell our farm produce. Besides, the temperature during the dry season is increasing every year.
The rain does not fall at the correct time these days. It will fall at a time when you don’t expect it to fall. These days it also falls very much when we don’t expect it. I think, the rainfall pattern has changed. At one time you experience very heavy rainfall over a very long time which leads to floods, and at other times it only drizzles over a couple of days, causing droughts and dusty conditions. These are the challenges we are facing in this community and we cannot do anything about it.
Climate change is real in Navrongo. Over the course of the 25 years that I have worked at this station, I have observed a progressive rise in temperature and decrease in mean annual rainfall. Climate change is therefore happening all around us due to rising temperatures; declining rainfall totals and increased variability; high incidence of weather extremes and disasters.
Most communities here are prone to CSM because of their location near the Sahelian region, which is CSM-endemic. CSM mostly assumes endemic proportions when the Ghana Health Service fails to vaccinate people before the start of the dry season. In that case, the heat and congestion in most compounds serve as a conducive atmosphere for the disease to thrive given that the people possess very little capacity to prevent the occurrence of the disease.
Well, everybody here can associate CSM with temperature and rainfall, but some of us still believe that the disease is a curse from our forefathers on people who fail to honour them or those who disobey the gods. I remember a young boy once insulted the gods when he was brought before them to apologise for an offense he had committed. He refused to apologise and before we knew it he was afflicted by the disease and he died. Some of us still believe that the disease is from our ancestors. Once we stop offending them, they will also stop infecting our children and generations yet to come with the disease.
For us we have observed that in recent years the heat becomes so severe, and that is when we experience a lot of CSM cases. It happened some few years back when the meteorological officer told us that temperatures for the first time went up to 48 °C. A number of people in this community were attacked by the disease.
Unlike malaria which occurs at any time of the year, CSM is the only disease which attacks us during the dry season, and in years when the heat becomes very severe. One thing we still do not understand is that the disease also affects us the poor people and our children.
3.2. Adaptation Strategies
3.2.1. Reactive Adaptation: Annual Mass CSM Immunization, Moderation of Socio-cultural Activities that Result in Mass Gathering and Movement Restrictions on Carriers
We thank the government for the annual vaccination which is done in the dry season against CSM. This is helping us and saving the lives of our children, brothers, sisters and community members who used to die when there is an outbreak. Now we are not afraid of the disease like in the past.
The vaccinations have been very helpful in fighting the disease in this community, especially when they do it before the beginning of the dry season. They are however not able to solve the problem completely when they delay in the vaccination before the outbreak occurs. I say this because my son died of the disease whilst on admission at the hospital in Navrongo some ten years ago.
The leaders of this community always meet and place bans on the performance of funerals and other communal social-cultural activities when they detect that there is an outbreak of CSM. Through this action, they are always able to control huge gatherings and therefore further spread of the disease. An example is the year 2001 when the leaders temporary placed a ban on the performance of funerals in the community because of a CSM outbreak. Though people could not perform their funerals, this helped a great deal to prevent the spread of the disease.We as community leaders always have a responsibility to protect our people. As a result, we have set up community bye-laws that temporarily place a restriction on the movement of people suspected of having CSM. In this way, we have managed to reduce the spread of CSM for the last ten years, since the last epidemic was experienced.
3.2.2. Autonomous Adaptation: Modifications in Dwelling Types, Use of Fuel Efficient and Improved Cooking Methods, Sleeping in Open Air
We respect our culture and traditions, including the types of houses we live in. However, the traditional local houses expose us to a lot of heat and diseases like CSM. Based on the recommendation of our community leaders in our community action plans, we decided to modify our houses into cement block houses and zinc or aluminium roofs gradually. Though relatively expensive, we have not regretted because the new houses are more airy and spacious than the previous ones.
3.2.3. Planned Adaptation: Afforestation and Preservation of Sacred Groves in Communities
We now grow trees along the boundaries of our communities, and within our houses. We have taken to various afforestation projects to improve upon the natural environment. We have planted teak along the Bolgatanga-Navrongo road just before the Notre Dame Minor Seminary/Secondary School at Nayagnia. We have also planted canopy-top trees that offer various degrees of shades in our backyards. It is these trees that we take cover under during the daytime when temperatures rise so high in the dry season.We have put in place initiatives that help preserve our community sacred groves as an intervention for improving the environment and bringing temperatures down. We revere these sacred groves so we prevent people from going there to cut down the trees.
4. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Codjoe, S.N.A.; Nabie, V.A. Climate Change and Cerebrospinal Meningitis in the Ghanaian Meningitis Belt. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2014, 11, 6923-6939. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110706923
Codjoe SNA, Nabie VA. Climate Change and Cerebrospinal Meningitis in the Ghanaian Meningitis Belt. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2014; 11(7):6923-6939. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110706923
Chicago/Turabian StyleCodjoe, Samuel Nii Ardey, and Vivian Adams Nabie. 2014. "Climate Change and Cerebrospinal Meningitis in the Ghanaian Meningitis Belt" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 11, no. 7: 6923-6939. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110706923