HeatSafe Communities: Protecting Women, Children and Outdoor Workers from Extreme Heat Health Risks in Nigeria

Implementing Organization: Climate & Sustainable Development Network (CSDevNet)
Project Duration: 24 months – September 2026 to August 2028
Project Location: Kano State, Nigeria
Target LGAs: Gaya, Kumbotso, Dala, Wudil and Tarauni
Project Support: Sanofi Foundation Climate Action & Health Resilience Grants Programme

1. Project Overview

HeatSafe Communities is a two-year community and primary-healthcare resilience project designed to reduce the health risks associated with extreme heat in vulnerable communities in Kano State.

The project recognizes that extreme heat is not only an environmental challenge but also a community and public-health issue. Women, children, pregnant women and outdoor workers can face significant exposure, while communities and primary healthcare facilities may have limited systems for recognizing, responding to and documenting heat-related illness.

CSDevNet will work with communities, primary healthcare facilities, schools, local government structures and relevant technical institutions to establish practical systems for heat-risk awareness, early action, health screening, referral and community preparedness.

2. Project Goal

To reduce heat-related health risks and strengthen community and primary-healthcare resilience to extreme heat, particularly for women, children and outdoor workers in vulnerable communities in Kano State.

3. Key Objectives

The project will:

Strengthen community capacity to identify heat risks and take practical protective actions through youth-led Heat Action Hubs and trained Heat Champions.
Improve primary healthcare preparedness to recognize, manage, document and refer heat-related health conditions.
Protect vulnerable groups, particularly women, children and outdoor workers, through tailored community, school and workplace heat-safety measures.
Generate evidence and strengthen local planning by documenting community heat-health risks, responses and lessons that can inform local government and wider climate-health planning.

4. Main Activities

A. Community Heat Action

Establish 5 youth-led Heat Action Hubs, linked to the five target LGAs.
Train 100 Heat Champions, with at least 60% female participation.
Conduct community heat-risk awareness and household outreach.
Develop and implement community heat-alert and response procedures.
Promote practical household heat-protection measures.
Establish referral linkages between communities and PHCs.

B. Primary Healthcare Preparedness

Engage selected PHCs across the target communities.
Train healthcare workers and CHWs on heat-health risks, recognition and management.
Introduce practical heat-health screening and reporting tools.
Strengthen referral pathways for severe heat-related cases.
Support PHCs to incorporate heat-health preparedness into routine services.

C. Heat-Safe Schools

Work with selected schools in the target communities.
Train teachers on heat-health risks and protective practices.
Develop school-level heat-action plans.
Promote practical measures covering hydration, classroom conditions, activity scheduling and heat-risk communication.
Develop child-friendly heat-health information materials.

D. Evidence, Learning and Policy Engagement

Conduct baseline and community heat-vulnerability assessments.
Document heat-health risks and community experiences.
Establish a project heat-health data and learning system.
Produce practical implementation tools, including a Heat Action Hub Manual, Heat Champion Training Manual, Community Heat Alert Guide, Household Heat Protection Guide, PHC Heat-Health Package and Heat-Safe School Toolkit.
Share evidence and lessons with relevant Kano State and local government stakeholders to support climate-health planning and replication.

5. Key Project Targets

By the end of the project, CSDevNet aims to have:

5 functional Heat Action Hubs across the target LGAs.
100 trained Heat Champions, at least 60% of whom will be women.
Strengthened heat-health preparedness in selected primary healthcare facilities.
Trained CHWs and frontline health workers able to recognize and respond to heat-related health risks.
Selected schools implementing Heat-Safe School measures and action plans.
Community-level heat-alert, outreach and referral mechanisms operating in the target locations.
Community heat-health evidence, vulnerability information and learning products generated.
Practical tools and lessons available for institutionalization and replication.

6. Target Locations

Implementation will cover:

Gaya LGA | Kumbotso LGA | Dala LGA | Wudil LGA | Tarauni LGA

The project will work through existing community, health, education and local-government structures to strengthen ownership and sustainability.

7. Stakeholder Engagement

CSDevNet intends to work closely with Kano State and LGA authorities, PHC institutions, CHWs, schools, Ward Development Committees, traditional and community leaders, women and youth organizations, technical institutions and other relevant partners.

For the inception phase, representatives from all five target LGAs; including CHWs, headteachers/teachers, youth representatives and community stakeholders will be engaged to help validate local priorities and implementation arrangements.

The project is intended to complement existing government and community systems and generate practical evidence that can support longer-term integration of heat-health preparedness into local planning and services.