Last week, the SPRINGS project consortium convened for its second annual meeting in Akuse, Ghana, hosted by the University of Ghana. The meeting took place within the Volta Basin region—one of the project's key case study sites—an area highly vulnerable to severe weather events and a critical focus for understanding the impacts of climate change on waterborne diseases.
The week-long meeting brought together the 15 project partners to assess progress, set priorities for the coming year, and engage with local stakeholders. These interactions aimed to strengthen collaboration, gather insights, and build capacity to address the increasing threat of climate change on water quality and the prevalence of waterborne diarrhoeal diseases.
The gathering began with welcoming remarks from the Ghana case study leaders Adelina Mensah and Yemoh Ted Annang, followed by Vanessa Harris, the project coordinator, who set the stage for discussions. Each work package presented key developments from the past year, and PhD researchers shared updates on their ongoing studies within the SPRINGS framework.
A key focus of the meeting was aligning strategies for the integration of the different models—climate, water quality, and pathogen-specific models with possible interventions to enhance early warning systems that can support targeted interventions across the project’s case study sites.
Beyond internal discussions, the visit to Ghana provided an opportunity to visit communities and water sources around the case study site, strengthen connections with local stakeholders, gather valuable input, and raise awareness about the growing risks climate change poses to water quality and public health. Several workshops took place throughout the week:
The SPRINGS project wrapped up a week of intensive collaboration, research progress, and meaningful engagement with local stakeholders to address climate-related health challenges.
About the project:
SPRINGS is an EU-funded project focused on addressing the impact of climate change on waterborne diarrheal diseases. Diarrheal diseases are currently the third leading cause of death in children under 5 years of age globally. Compounded by global climate projections indicating increased precipitation, flooding, and drought, there is a looming threat to the progress made in reducing diarrheal disease burden. To inform and prioritise effective political responses, SPRINGS is building 4 case studies in Italy, Ghana, Romania, and Tanzania with contrasting vulnerabilities.