The Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, the Deputy Minister of Education, has said climate change has been recognised widely as an urgent societal challenge impacting both humans and natural systems differently.
He said women and girls were worse hit with multiple burdens including, exploitation, gender-based violence, and increased caregiving responsibilities, limiting their access to education, health services, and opportunities for personal development.
The Deputy Minister was speaking at a three-day migration conference in Accra to address Forced Displacement and Climate Change impact on vulnerable populations.
The Conference was dubbed “Addressing Intersecting Crisis: Forced Displacement, Climate Change and Gender in Social Transformation” and was organised by the Centre for Migration Studies (CMS), University of Ghana under the Resilience Against Climate Change- Social Transformation Research and Policy Advocacy (REACH-STR) Project.
It was funded by the European Commission with support from International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.
The conference aimed at engaging diverse stakeholders on migration and forced displacement, the nexus between migration and climate change, social transformation, and gender to generate new knowledge to inform national and international policy frameworks and contribute to addressing some of the challenges facing migrants.
Among the participants were researchers, diplomats, donors, policy makers, and civil society organisations.
Rev. Ntim Fordjour reiterated the urgent need to address intersectional inequality to ensure that everyone could contribute to and as well benefit from climate resilience efforts.
He said:” As we reflect on these challenges, it is crucial to recognise the importance of education in its diverse forms – campaigns, advocacy, curriculum development, and skills transfer – as key strategies to address the root causes of forced migration, including climate-induced displacement.”
“New knowledge, technology, and skills transfer from migrants and forcibly displaced populations can challenge traditional norms around health, education, and gender equality (FAO, 2018). This emphasizes the need for programmes that facilitate skills transfer and knowledge sharing between host populations and displaced persons,” he added.
He further stressed the need for governments to establish inclusive policies and frameworks that promote the social and economic integration of displaced populations into host communities, which he noted, was essential for fostering resilience and social cohesion.
Prof. Mary Boatemaa Setrana, the Director, CMS, said a few years ago, the centre began studies on Resilience against climate change and social transformation as well as the forced displacement research and advocacy.
She noted that the study was a component of the Government of Ghana’s intervention response under the European Union Ghana Agriculture Programme (EUGAP).
Prof Setrana, who is also the West Africa Research Chair on Forced Displacement funded by IDRC and a member of the 12 Chairs on forced displacement globally, said the idea of social transformation was to help develop a more inclusive and sustainable approach to rural development.
She said the conference would also promote a deeper understanding of the nexus of forced displacement, climate change, gender, as well as exploring how communities could restructure their social, political, cultural and economic systems using gender and social transformative approaches.
Madam Kathleen Flynn Dapaah, the Director, Head of Cooperation, Canadian High Commission, noted the critical issues at hand needs an evidence-based approach, especially a home grown and localised approach to come out with effective solutions to ensure sustainable livelihoods.
She said it was necessary to include gendered analysis and understand gender power dynamics in forced displacement to propose comprehensive and workable solutions.
“It’s encouraging to see this conference take a deeper dive on the issue of climate change and forced displacement because this is an area that needs more attention,” she added and commended the CMS, Prof Setrana and her team for their efforts in that direction.
Ms. Silvia Tizzi, Programme Officer in-Charge of Migration, EU delegation to Ghana, said the EU recognises the unique position that researchers and academics hold in shaping policy that are influenced by data, adding, “it is essential for policy makers to adopt a comprehensive approach to migration.
Mr. Owusu Mensah, the Deputy Comptroller of Immigration in-Charge of Finance and Administration, said the intersecting crisis needs effective collaboration and stronger coordinated efforts from all stakeholders to address the issue.