The Implications of Extreme Weather Events for Attaining the Sustainable Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa is among the regions that contribute least to global climate change, yet it is among the most vulnerable to its impacts due to low levels of economic and technological development. The frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events in the region are rising at a faster rate than the population capacity to deal with the attendant disasters. This paper interrogates some emerging and existing evidence of the potential for extreme weather events to obviate countries' attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Whilst previous studies have assessed the vulnerabilities of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries to extreme weather events on specific sectors, a comprehensive assessment of the implications of these extreme events for attaining the SDGs remains largely untouched. This paper assesses the impacts of flooding, extreme heat and drought on five key SDGs—Zero hunger (Goal 2), Good health and well-being (Goal 3), Quality education (Goal 4), Clean water and sanitation (Goal 6), and Sustainable cities and communities (Goal 11). Based on empirical cases from different SSA country contexts, and guided by the SDG targets and indicators, we discuss the main interactions between extreme weather events and different SDGs, emerging with a framework for the climate change—sustainable development nexus. Such an assessment, with regard to specific national and local case studies, would inform policy formulation and implementation, research and investment toward sustainable development in the region. Integrating resilence strategies into national development policies will offer sub-Saharan African countries the opportunity to reduce the impacts of extreme weather events on attaining their targets for sustainable development towards Agenda 2030.

The contribution of weather forecast information to agriculture, water, and energy sectors in East and West Africa: A systematic review

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Barriers and adaptation strategies to climate change among farming households in Guinea Savanna

“…Africa's vulnerability to climate change remains worrying to the extent that disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies have been underway for years, but efforts to build resilience have failed as most of the countries lack adequate financial, institutional, and technical capacities to deal with change (Manyena, 2016). This makes climate change (CC) and its subsequent conse-quences the most serious development challenges for several African countries, especially those of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (Codjoe and Atiglo, 2020), including Guinea (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2015). Guinea is sensitive to the impacts of climate change, and its capacity to successfully cope or adapt to the current changing environment remains weak and uncertain as it does not have any DRR strategies in place (Van Niekerk et al, 2020).…”

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