One of Africa’s foremost young scholars, Dr Nkechi Owoo, delivered this hybrid talk as part of her prestigious ‘Next Generation’ visiting research fellowship at the University of Bristol in 2023. The recording is available to view below along with a copy of the presentation slides. Dr Owoo is introduced in the talk by BPI Director and Professor of Social Justice, David Gordon. 

Dr Nkechi Owoo’s research focuses on the link between health, environmental sustainability and wellbeing - exploring the effects of climate change on health outcomes and how these relationships are moderated/ mediated by poverty. The talk reflected on three critical issues of the 21st Century: health, climate change and inequality.

Talk abstract

The world’s temperature has already increased by over 1.2°C, with significant health implications. In Ghana, with an average annual temperature of 28°C,the effects of climate change are apparent. Since the 1960s, the number of hot days and nights have increased by about 13% and 20%, respectively. Rainfall patterns have also become increasingly irregular, triggering floods, droughts and heatwaves, with natural disasters predicted to increase in frequency in the future.

About the speaker

Dr Owoo is a key member of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research (ACEIR). She has played a leading role in the UKRI ARUA funded Transforming Social Inequalities Through Inclusive Climate Action (TSITICA) project which investigates how climate change action can be socially transformative in three contrasting African countries: Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.

Dr Owoo is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Economics at the University of Ghana and a Senior Research Fellow at the Environment for Development Institute.
She is a Fellow at Future Africa, University of Pretoria and represents the Africa region on the Council of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) for the period 2022 – 2025.

After her fellowship visit at Bristol, she will be working at the World Bank in Washington DC for the next year.

Dr Owoo’s research focuses on spatial econometrics in addition to microeconomic issues in developing countries, including household behaviour, health, poverty and inequality, gender issues, population and demographic economics, as well as environmental sustainability.

View the talk

Presentation slides

 The Effects of Climate Change on Health Outcomes in Ghana - Dr Nkechi Owoo (PDF, 2,145kB)