By Joseph S. Conteh
In a groundbreaking collaboration, the Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki Sawyerr, and the CEO of Climate Resilience for All (CRA), Kathy Baughman McLeod, co-host the first-ever African Urban Heat Summit on February 6, 2025, at the Radisson Blu in Freetown. This landmark event brings together African mayors from cities such as Monrovia, Conakry, Kanifing, Accra, Ouagadougou, and Abidjan, along with local council leaders from across Sierra Leone, multilateral organizations, and key stakeholders. The summit aims to address the escalating threat of extreme heat and its profound impact on urban areas.
The Vice President of Sierra Leone, Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, highlighted the importance of this summit, emphasizing the need for shared insights and actionable discussions to address the challenges posed by rising temperatures in fast-growing urban areas like Freetown. He underscored the urgent need to build resilience and implement transformative actions to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Gerald Hatler, the EU chargé d’affaires, reiterated the EU’s commitment to supporting Sierra Leone in its climate change initiatives, particularly focusing on the West Area National Park. He stressed the importance of collaborative efforts with partners such as the World Bank and WFP to combat the threats posed by urban heat. Hatler advocated for the implementation of green infrastructure solutions to address these challenges and offered the EU’s expertise and support for innovative initiatives in Freetown and other cities.
The summit will also serve as a platform to launch the Freetown Heat Action Plan, underlining the government’s national climate change action plan and the importance of partnerships to drive sustainable solutions. With a focus on collaboration among government, private sector, civil society, and development partners, the summit is poised to catalyze innovative strategies and best practices to tackle the pressing issue of climate change across Africa.
