Arid and semi-arid countries in the Sahelian belt and the greater Horn of Africa are often identified as the most vulnerable regions on the continent . Particularly vulnerable groups include pastoralists , fishing communities , small-scale farmers  and residents of formal and informal urban settlements . Research has identified key macro drivers, as well as multiple dimensions of social status that mediate differential vulnerability in different African contexts. For example, the contemporary vulnerability of small-scale rural producers in semi-arid northern Ghana has been shaped by colonial economic transformations , more recent neoliberal reforms reducing state support  and the disruption of local food systems due to increasing grain imports . Age interacts with other dimensions of social status, shaping differential vulnerability in several ways. Projected increases in mean temperatures and longer and more intense heat waves  may increase health risks for children and elderly populations by increasing risks associated with heat stress . Temperature extremes are associated with increased risk of mortality in Ghana, Burkina Faso, Kenya and South Africa, with greatest increases among children and the elderly .
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report