Existing practices, gaps and strategies to promote perinatal mental health in Ghana.

Recently, climate change has emerged as a critical public health challenge driving long-term alterations in temperature, precipitation, wind patterns, and other elements of the Earth’s climate system, primarily driven by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (). These environmental changes significantly affect human health through increased heat exposure, air pollution, and extreme weather events, producing complex hazards to human well-being (, ). Evidence indicates that for every 1 °C rise in global temperatures, heat-related morbidity and mortality rise by 18–35%, with older women among the most affected group (). Women are disproportionately vulnerable to climate-sensitive health risks, particularly menopausal women, owing to physiological vulnerabilities and altered thermoregulation (). These vulnerabilities are further exacerbated in resource-limited settings by limited access to health services, gendered roles, and cultural norms that restrict adaptive options (). Menopause, which typically occurs between 45 and 55 years of age and is characterized by the cessation of menstruation for 12 consecutive months, is accompanied by declining ovarian follicular function, vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes/night sweats), sleep disturbance, and mood swings (, ). Scientific evidence indicates that climate change, higher temperatures, and humidity correlate with increased vasomotor symptom severity (). Beyond these manifestations, it also compromises sleep quality, cardiovascular well-being, bone health, and mental resilience among menopausal women (, ). Menopause represents a golden moment for implementing virtuous behaviors that will benefit women’s health (). Globally, the number of women transitioning through menopause is rising, and projections suggest that by 2030 approximately 1.2 billion women will be postmenopausal (). Moreover, menopausal symptoms such as vasomotor instability affect up to 80% of women and may persist for 4–10 years after menopause ().