The Heat Adaptation Benefits for Vulnerable Groups in Africa (HABVIA) Project, funded by the Wellcome Trust, has held its annual workshop at the Amonoo-Neizer Teleconference Centre, KNUST, from Monday, 14th to Friday, 17th May, 2024. The workshop brought together a multidisciplinary team of researchers and collaborators from various global institutions to discuss progress, challenges, and new research concepts under the Project.

The Heat Adaptation Benefits for Vulnerable Groups in Africa seeks to investigate how extreme heat affects different aspects of human health, such as sleep, hydration and blood pressure and also to investigate how making certain changes to houses will improve health during hot weather seasons. The first phase of the workshop was hosted at the University of Ghana before moving to KNUST, where Professor Kweku Bedu-Addo, the local investigator, led the proceedings.

In her address, Professor (Mrs.) Rita Akosua Dickson, Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, commended the spirit of collaboration, innovation and diversity that defines the University community and urged the Group to continue to impact society with their relevant research activities. She assured the Group of KNUST’s commitment to providing the necessary resources, guidance and expertise to ensure the achievement of the objectives of the Project.

Professor Lara Dugas from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, re-iterated the importance of collaboration, referencing the longstanding partnership between KNUST, University of Cape Town and Loyola University of Chicago during the inception of the Modelling the Epidemiologic Transition Study (METS) in 2010, a Project in 2010 that has now evolved into the present study.
The workshop featured vibrant discussions on themes such as Heat Adaptations, Health, and Community-Involved Heat Intervention Co-Development. Additionally, students presented their research, and participants visited the study site of the Project at Nkwantakese, off the Kumasi-Offinso highway, to engage with study participants.
The event included collaborators from institutions such as the University of Cape Town, the South Africa Medical Research Council (SAMRC), the University of Ghana, and the University of Bristol. Other notable participants included Professor Christian Agyare, Provost of the College of Health Sciences; Professor Akwasi Antwi-Kusi, Dean of the School of Medical Sciences; and Dr. Emmanuel Amankwah Ntim, Head of the Department of Physiology.