The Volta Basin is one of the most vulnerable region in West Africa due to its high exposure and low adaptive capacity to water-related disasters. This area has been affected by climate change events such as flood and drought, generating social, economic and environmental losses to almost two million people over the last 20 years. Key affected stakeholders are mainly people working in the agricultural sector as around 68% of the population in the basin is largely dependent on agriculture.

The Volta Basin project entitled Integrating Flood and Drought Management and Early Warning for Climate Change Adaptation in the Volta Basin’ has the ambition to provide the first large scale and transboundary implementation of Integrated Flood and Drought Management by empowering the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) and other competent authorities of the six riparian countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Togo) with robust solutions for disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, including capacity development for green solutions and gender sensitive participatory approaches. An Early Warning System will be designed to reach the civil protection services and other private and public stakeholders.