In Africa, climatic variations, as typified by widespread rainfall fluctuations, are a prominent feature of the climate of the continent. The effects of these climatic variations are multifarious and affect the environmental, economic and social well-being of the societies concerned. This is particularly so since the majority of the people depend on rain supported agricultural production for their sustenance and livelihood. Any short-fall in the amount, frequency and manner of occurrence of the rains received, tends to reflect on the people's spatial behaviour, particularly as migration in trying to make up for the impact of the deficit. This paper describes the nature of climatic variations over the continent and highlights the extent to which climatic variations play a significant role in population movement and the health of peoples as documented in studies carried out in different parts of the region. An awareness of the implications of climatic variations as reviewed in this work suggests the need for better monitoring systems to measure the impacts of climatic variations. This will provide governments and all stakeholders with a proper perspective of the vagaries of climate and enhance the development of suitable policies to mitigate and alleviate the impact on the general populace of the affected areas. This is especially important in the face of changing world climate and its antecedant effects which are especially felt in developing societies.

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migration determinant climate effect Africa medical geography health impact