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The WEMA project explores the overlooked mental health impacts of climate change in Africa through a community-driven, transdisciplinary approach that blends science, storytelling, and policy. By elevating local voices and experiences, it aims to shape compassionate, inclusive climate adaptation strategies.

As climate change intensifies, so do the silent storms it stirs within us, especially in vulnerable communities already battling socioeconomic challenges. Mental health is increasingly recognised as one of the most urgent yet overlooked consequences of the climate crisis. On a global scale, various reports underscore growing confidence in the mental health impacts of climate change.

In low-and middle-income countries, nearly three-quarters of people with mental health conditions still receive no treatment, an alarming treatment gap made worse by climate-related stressors and resource constraints

The Weather Events and Mental Health Analysis (WEMA) project emerges as a timely and urgent response to these realities, seeking to answer a research question that has long been ignored in Africa: How do floods, heatwaves, and other extreme weather events affect mental health?

Funded by the Wellcome Trust, the WEMA project is a bold, transdisciplinary collaboration involving institutions in South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, and Burkina Faso. At its core, WEMA bridges the worlds of climate science, public health, psychology, policy, and storytelling to amplify the lived experiences of those at the frontlines of climate-related distress.

Led in South Africa by Dr. Astrid Treffry-Goatley at the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI), the project is co-developing evidence and interventions with communities, policymakers, and researchers across four African countries. Dr. Treffry-Goatley explains:

While substantial attention has been given to the physical health impacts of climate change, mental health, particularly in low-resource settings, remains largely invisible. WEMA aims to change that.

Science that Listens and Learns

What makes WEMA uniquely powerful is its community-led approach. At each study site, Community-Based Co-Researchers (CBCRs) are being trained in participatory visual methods, particularly digital storytelling. These stories, grounded in real-world experiences of trauma, anxiety, and resilience, are not just data, they’re catalysts for policy change.

Dr. Chanelle Mulopo, a WEMA postdoctoral researcher CERI leads the qualitative research component.

The digital stories we’re co-creating with communities are crucial,” she explains. “They ensure that evidence doesn’t just sit in journals, it reaches the right people, in the right form, to inspire meaningful action.

Science for All

As National Science Week calls us to celebrate science for society, WEMA stands as a timely example of what inclusive, responsive science can look like. It’s not just about measuring weather patterns or tracking diagnoses. It’s about connecting scientific inquiry with the lived experiences of ordinary people, and ensuring that their voices shape the policies that affect their futures.

WEMA is currently active in six Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) sites across the continent. The project uses a mixed-methods approach, combining:

• A rapid literature review of climate-related mental health research in Africa (under review),
• Secondary data analysis of health records and extreme weather patterns,
• Surveys and structured interviews measuring depression, anxiety, and PTSD,
• Digital storytelling workshops led by local facilitators,
• Community-led intervention development and advocacy campaigns.

Despite staggered progress across sites due to local ethics approvals and linguistic barriers (with teams working in English, isiZulu, Swahili, Portuguese, and French), the WEMA consortium is steadily building a model of equitable, decolonial science.

From Stories to Systems Change

Early results are already making waves. The first storytelling workshop took place in Kenya in May 2025, followed by a second in KwaZulu-Natal in June, where community members shared personal accounts of trauma linked to climate disasters. These stories will feed into policy briefs, multimedia campaigns, and regional dialogues, supported by strategic media partner Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism.

The project has also been profiled in the South African Journal of Science and is featured at international science communication events, including the PCST Conference in Scotland. As Dr. Treffry-Goatley notes:

We want our research to move beyond labs, beyond papers, into boardrooms, clinics, and village halls.

Building Science That Heals

Ultimately, WEMA aims to influence how African nations respond to both the visible and invisible impacts of climate change. By embedding mental health into climate adaptation strategies, WEMA is not only making science more human, it’s making policy more compassionate.

As South Africa celebrates National Science Week, the WEMA project offers a striking reminder: that science isn't just what we know, it's how we care, and who we include.

• Lead institutions: AHRI, CERI, APHRC, CRSN, CSM, Bhekisisa, Heidelberg Institute of Global Health

News date: 2025-08-05

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