The Pacific is heading for the warmest El Niño anyone has measured.In Africa, it will not arrive as water. It will arrive as a bill.The World Meteorological Organization expects this El Niño to peak in December, with the central Pacific about 3.7°C warmer than normal, the highest since records began, and to last into February 2027.Start with Ghana, where the danger is dry. The Ghana Meteorological Agency has warned of a hotter, drier season from November to April, with heat stress peaking between February and April 2027. It has also said what every household should hear: this season's electricity depends mainly on water already stored in Lake Volta. On 2 November the lake stood at 266.57 feet, 26.57 feet above its 240-foot minimum operating level. The rain of 2027 will decide the power of 2028.Then Kenya, where the danger is wet. On 30 June, Kenya's Cabinet set up an Ad Hoc Committee on El Niño, chaired by the Deputy President, and told it to activate a national contingency plan at once. The region's climate centre, ICPAC, gives north-eastern Kenya a 90 per cent chance of above-normal rain from October to December. Kenya decided in June for rains due in October.Then Nigeria, where the danger is heat. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency confirmed in August that a strong El Niño had begun. On 30 October, Lagos State's Environment Commissioner, Tokunbo Wahab, warned residents of extreme heat and poorer air and asked families, employers and schools to protect the most vulnerable. The University of Chicago's Climate Impact Lab puts Nigeria's possible extra heat deaths from this El Niño at about 56,000, the highest of any country. A model is not a count, but it is reason enough to act.Credit is due: in all three countries the warning came early, from Africa's own scientists and officials. The question now is how many days it takes a warning to become action.Look closely and every one of these dangers is one natural resource: water. The same rain fills the lake that lights the city, wets the soil that feeds the family and runs through the drain that floods the street. When water fails, the goals the world agreed in 2015 fall in a line: food, health, power, work, our cities. Treat El Niño as weather and you protect one of them. Treat it as a natural resource and you protect them all.On 5 November my team and I briefed the Office of the Presidential Adviser on National Resilience and Emergency Preparedness in Accra, Hon. Ernest Brogya Genfi. The Adviser has called for "a nation where prevention takes precedence over response". We came with one idea: for each danger, agree the first sign, the office that moves when it is seen, and the money that already exists to move. Our first monthly Lake Volta page for the Ministry of Energy was ready the next morning. The Minister for Finance has said funds for a permanent flood solution will come in the 2027 Budget, due on 12 November. A warning with a budget line behind it becomes a plan. In Kenya, young residents of Kajiado County gathered evidence on which drains had been paid for and which were working, before the rains. Five offices, from the ward to the Council of Governors, received it, and county offices stamped it. In Nigeria, young people in Lagos, Ilorin and Oyigbo record the drains and markets of their own towns.Africa has 1.55 billion evidence givers. The mother who knows the day the tap ran dry; the student who sees which drain is blocked. Young Africans in their own towns gather that evidence. At the Institute we check every figure against its source and turn it into one page a minister can act on. Each government sees its own figures first, with a week to reply, before anything is published.This is research that is finished only when a decision has changed and been measured again. Research names the decision; the policy page names the office and the date; action comes in the window, before the damage; impact is counted in homes dry, crops saved, lights on and young people paid; then we measure again. That is how research becomes a turbocharger and a transformational tool.Four beats carry it. Count It: the sign, the day it was crossed and the day help arrived. Keep It: money already in the budget reaches people before the damage, not after; in the last El Niño, every dollar FAO spent acting early returned up to three. Convert It: every early action is work. Clearing a drain or mending a water point is a job for a young person, and we count each one against the legal minimum wage, GH₵21.77 a day in Ghana this year. In Nigeria, one recycling programme created 8,328 new jobs, 5,265 of them held by women. Circulate It: what one town learns, the next town uses.The test is practical. Power safe: read the lake monthly and cost the back-up power for 2028 now. Food safe: seed and water in farmers' hands before the dry spell. Young people working: paid to clear, mend and count.The Rector of the United Nations University, Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, wrote this week that "in the AI era, we must ensure meaningful jobs remain available for people to transition into." Prevention is one of those jobs, and Africa needs millions of them.None of this replaces the forecasters, who forecast, or governments, who decide and pay. Our part is to count whether the warning became action, and how fast. Any ministry, county or state government that wants this for its own El Niño can write to me at richard.munang@unu.edu. If there is one thing you remember, let it be this: a warning is only as good as the action it starts, and the days it takes.My grandmother lit her lamp while there was still light to find the matches. In the dark, she used to say, everybody searches for the matches at once. The warning is our light. Africa can find its matches now.The Pacific is heading for the warmest El Niño anyone has measured. Africa can be ready before it lands.Africa is not poor. Africa is uncounted.Dr Richard Munang is Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) in Accra. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations University.
  

The World Food Programme (WFP) is implementing the Farming with Intelligence Project in Ghana to empower 250,000 smallholder farmers with digital tools and information that enhance agricultural productivity and resilience. The project covers all 16 regions of Ghana, with a primary focus on the five northern regions, where food insecurity levels are high, while also extending services to the remaining 11 regions across the country.
The initiative uses Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology and an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot in local languages to strengthen climate-smart and regenerative agriculture practices while improving farmers’ access to markets and financial services. As part of efforts to enhance the implementation and impact of the programme, WFP held a stakeholder forum in Tamale on October 28, bringing together farmers, agricultural extension officers, representatives of the Ghana Meteorological Agency and Regional Directors of Agriculture and the implementing partner- farmerline.The forum provided a platform for participants to share experiences, exchange ideas and identify best practices to improve the programme and maximise benefits for participating farmers.
Participants collectively proposed progressive measures to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of the project, with the aim of strengthening its contribution to the Government of Ghana’s national development agenda. Sharing his experience, Adam, a beneficiary farmer from Kudula in the Karaga District, said the project was providing them with timely and useful information to improve their farming practices.He said access to relevant agricultural information was supporting farmers to make better decisions and adopt improved practices on their farms.
The WFP Deputy Country Director, Nicole Carn, underscored the organisation's commitment to deepening smart agriculture initiatives that deliver meaningful benefits to smallholder farmers.
The project, spearheaded by the WFP Innovation Accelerator and funded by the John Deere Foundation, seeks to create a digital future for farmers by leveraging technology to expand agricultural opportunities. Through accessible digital solutions, the initiative aims to bridge information gaps, equip farmers with relevant agricultural knowledge and strengthen their capacity to respond to climate-related challenges.

To tackle a housing deficit of over 1.83 million units while curbing carbon emissions, the Ministry of Works, Housing and Water Resources, alongside UN partners, have officially launched the Transforming Ghana's Built Environment Through Sustainable Materials Demonstration Project. Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by UNEP, UNOPS, and UN-Habitat in partnership with the Ministry, the initiative operationalizes Ghana's 2050 Construction Sector Decarbonisation Roadmap.  Delivering the keynote address, the Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim, emphasized the urgency of shifting away from traditional, energy-intensive building methods. "We cannot continue to use the same approach of yesterday to achieve the results we need tomorrow," he stated, noting that the project will test scalable, low-carbon solutions through the District Housing Programme.  Speaking on behalf of the UN Resident Coordinator, UNOPS Head of Office Ms. Linda Agbesi noted that the project promotes a whole life-cycle approach to housing: "Through this strategic partnership, the government and the UN system are promoting low carbon housing prototypes for sustainable communities in Ghana and strengthening networks of low carbon materials and upscaling the inclusion of alternative construction practices in the country, while supporting transfer to low-carbon materials in the housing sector."  The launch event doubled as a validation workshop, featuring technical sessions led by Blue Alliance. Stakeholders reviewed techno-economic feasibility studies, financial analyses, and a newly drafted Compendium of Locally Available Low-Carbon Building Materials.  The event also celebrated the awarding of international EDGE Certification to three local housing prototype models, setting a strong benchmark for sustainable and affordable housing delivery across Ghana. 

The UN in Ghana has stepped up its breast cancer awareness activities, calling for greater public awareness, early detection and timely treatment to help reduce deaths from the disease.Ghana recorded an estimated 5,487 new breast cancer cases and 2,695 deaths in 2024, highlighting the urgent need to strengthen public education, encourage screening and improve access to timely diagnosis and treatment.At an event attended by UN staff in Ghana, officials from the Ghana Health Service and representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs) to announce its planned activities, WHO Country Director Dr. Fiona Braka noted that the UN in Ghana is supporting the national Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign, launched in September, by amplifying public awareness messages, promoting breast health and encouraging early detection and timely intervention. Dr. Braka highlighted the global and national breast cancer situation and called for evidence-based action and increased resources to improve outcomes.  Dr. Wallace Odiko of the Ghana Health Service emphasised the importance of coordinated efforts to address the disease and expressed appreciation to the UN in Ghana for joining national efforts to increase awareness. Providing practical guidance, Dr. Nana Ama Christian, a specialist surgeon at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, briefed participants on early detection, breast self-awareness and where to access screening services. She encouraged staff to be familiar with their breasts, pay attention to unusual changes and seek medical advice promptly if they notice anything concerning. She noted that breast cancer primarily affects women but can also occur in men. According to Dr, Christian, some of the warning signs include a new lump or thickening in the breast, changes in breast size or shape, skin changes and unusual nipple discharge. She therefore advised that anyone who notices such changes should seek medical evaluation promptly and to consult qualified health professionals about appropriate screening recommendations and available services. The UN Resident Coordinator, Zia Choudhury, stressed the importance of collective action and sustained awareness in promoting better health outcomes.A key moment of the event was a testimony by breast cancer survivor Madam Ernestina Agyapong, who shared her personal experience and journey. Her account highlighted the importance of seeking medical attention promptly and the vital role of support systems at home, in the workplace and in health facilities in helping people navigate diagnosis and treatment.As part of its ongoing awareness efforts, the UN in Ghana plans to organise webinars, screening opportunities, counselling and staff engagement activities. These initiatives aim to encourage informed conversations about breast health, reduce stigma and strengthen support for people affected by breast cancer.