Contact:Prof. Eva Kantelhardt
Duration: 01.11.2024 - 31.10.2026
Funder: BMBF
Summary:
The aim of this project is to develop and implement a comprehensive gender-specific heat adaptation strategy tailored to the health needs of pregnant women and women with newborns in the Kassena-Nankana East and West districts (both part of the Navrongo Health and Demographic Census Site) in Northern Ghana. At the core of the study is a Gender Transformative Approach (GTA), which not only addresses the immediate problem—in our case, excessive heat exposure—but also addresses underlying structural and normative barriers that perpetuate gender inequality, with the goal of promoting a more just and equitable society.
The specific work objectives include: (1) by adopting a hybrid effectiveness-implementation design, the development (through a co-creation process), implementation and evaluation of a heat adaptation strategy aimed at reducing heat stress during pregnancy and the early postpartum/neonatal period, (2) the determination of individual changes in the physiological responses of mothers and fetuses exposed and not exposed to the heat adaptation strategy, and (3) paving the way for the implementation of an effective gender-specific adaptation strategy at the national level specifically targeting pregnant women and their newborns by promoting dialogue among different stakeholders.