Ghana

Ghana is a hotspot for zoonotic diseases with many endemic and emerging pathogens being reported in livestock, wildlife, and humans, including Marburg virus, Lassa fever, Rabies, Anthrax, Brucellosis, and other zoonotic microorganisms. Avian influenza is fast becoming endemic causing huge financial loss to the poultry industry. Human activities, compounded by natural events have put Ghana’s biodiversity under serious threat. Recent changes in land use and agricultural production systems, natural resource extraction (e.g., wildlife and rosewood harvest, mining, timber logging) and an expansion of livestock production into wildlife habitats is altering ecosystems and likely increasing the risk of zoonotic spillover. While Ghana contributes relatively little to climate change, several climate shocks threaten the country, including rising temperatures, less predictable rainfall, drought, and flooding which are expected to influence the distribution and patterns of infectious diseases as well as human and animal movement.

Aligned with the global objectives of N4H, Nature for Health Ghana works with human, animal, and environmental health experts, policy makers, and other stakeholders to co-develop integrated and coordinated policies, generate and disseminate evidence on links between biodiversity, climate and health, and support decision makers and other key actors to take preventive measures. N4H Ghana is led by a multi-sector Core Team of representatives from the University of Ghana, Wildlife Division of Forestry Commission, Veterinary Services Directorate, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, National Disaster Management Organisation, and Public Health Directorate of Ghana Health Service with support from EcoHealth Alliance as the global convening partner.

Following Ghana’s expression of interest and selection as a N4H phase one country, the N4H Ghana team conducted a systemic inquiry between January – June 2024 across four regions of Ghana to understand zoonotic spillover risks, and their drivers. The scoping process also identified concrete ‘upstream’ or primary prevention interventions to tackle root causes of disease emergence at the environment-health interface. Findings from the systemic inquiry have been developed into a 3-year Implementation Project Document (IPD) outlining how N4H Ghana will reduce spillover risk by employing preventative One Health approaches aligned with local and national priorities. The IPD will address five key areas of

• awareness creation, sensitisation and advocacy,

• surveillance and risk assessment,

• risk reduction policies and guidelines,

• One Health coordination and information sharing, and

• monitoring, evaluation, learning, and outreach.

Collectively, these areas of work will generate and disseminate evidence on the links among biodiversity, climate, and health and support decision-makers and other stakeholders to take preventative measures for disease risk reduction that mutually support the protection of biodiversity.