World Environment Day 2023: Beat Plastic Pollution

Self Help AfricaClimate Change, featured, News

World Environment Day takes place on June 5th annually with the aim of providing a platform for unified action to protect and restore our planet. 

This year’s theme is #BeatPlasticPollution.

World Environment Day is a reminder that as climate change and its impacts continue to affect us all, we must find sustainable ways of living and working in order to reduce habitat loss, pollution and protect our planet for future generations. 

African countries are among the most affected by climate change. Human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, mostly from Western countries, have warmed today’s climate by 1.2°C, driving below-average rainfall in Eastern Africa, according to a study published in April by the World Weather Attribution group of scientists. 2022 was also one of the hottest years on record for Africa.

Self Help Africa is part of the world’s biggest community-led land restoration project, the Global EverGreening Alliance’s Restore Africa initiative, which recently launched in Kenya. Restore Africa aims to restore 1.9 million hectares of land, and directly supports 1.5 million smallholder farming families across six countries in Africa – Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. 

The initiative will provide critical support to millions of vulnerable farming families while also combatting the effects of climate change. Linking local communities to global initiatives is key to addressing the large-scale climate challenges facing Africa. 

At Self Help Africa, a crucial element of our work is supporting farming families to adapt to and mitigate the effects of global warming while producing enough food to earn a living.

To find out more about our work in response to the climate challenges faced in sub-Saharan Africa visit here.