The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has trained 30 data collectors made up of environmental health officers, staff from the Physical Planning Department, and health enumerators to support a citywide policy intervention aimed at reducing heat-related illnesses and deaths driven by climate change and rapid urbanisation, as well as to strengthen Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) and injury prevention.

The training, held at the Naa Deede Hall of the AMA on Thursday, 16 October 2025, was designed to equip participants with the skills and knowledge to gather reliable and ethics-compliant data from households, hawkers, and outdoor workers to inform the city’s first operational Heat Action Plan.

The data collection exercise, which will begin on Friday, 17 October 2025, and end on Tuesday, 21 October 2025, will cover selected heat-vulnerable zones, including Chorkor, Mamprobi, and Korle Gonno in the Ablekuma South Sub-Metro; Avenor, Bubuashie, Kaneshie, and Cable & Wireless as well as Makola, Agbogbloshie, Old Fadama, and Jamestown.

The exercise will focus on collecting data on demographic and housing risk factors, exposure and perceptions of heat, health-seeking behaviour, early-warning awareness, and adaptation practices, with supervisors reviewing submissions in real time to ensure accuracy and completeness.

Speaking at the event, Head of Metro Public Health,  Madam Florence Kuukyi said the project would strengthen early-warning coordination with the Ghana Meteorological Agency and the Ghana Health Service, build surveillance capacity, and integrate heat-mitigation strategies into urban planning and public-health policies.

She stated that the initiative would produce several key outputs, including a detailed risk assessment with vulnerability maps, standard operating procedures for managing heat emergencies, community engagement materials, and a policy brief, with technical guidance from the Partnership for Healthy Cities (Vital Strategies).

She added that the project aligns with Accra’s broader climate-resilience agenda and will inform targeted investments in shading, ventilation, water access, and community response systems in identified hotspots.

The trained field officers, she said, would serve as a link between communities and policymakers to ensure equitable distribution of resources and life-saving interventions for the most vulnerable residents.

Facilitator Dr. Daniel F. Akrofi explained that the project aims to assess the current burden of heat-related illness in the AMA, identify high-risk communities and vulnerable groups, and recommend evidence-based interventions that address infrastructure, behaviour change, policy, and emergency preparedness.

 He noted that the initiative responds to the city’s increasing temperatures caused by the urban heat-island effect and limited greenery and will feed into a monitoring and evaluation framework to track progress.

Participants were trained on digital data collection tools such as Kobo and ODK, research ethics, informed consent, and qualitative methods, including key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and structured observations.

They also practised navigating digital forms, applying skip logic and constraints, and were required to submit test surveys while observing device-security protocols such as daily syncing and password protection.

Dr. Akrofi indicated that the mixed-methods approach would ensure comprehensive data collection through household surveys, interviews with key agencies, discussions with market and transport associations, and systematic observations in markets and lorry parks. He concluded that the findings would enhance the AMA’s readiness for heat waves, improve public awareness and behaviour, and ultimately reduce hospitalisations and deaths linked to extreme heat across the metropolis, while complementing national early-warning efforts under the Ghana Meteorological Agency’s “Early Warning for All” initiative.