Climate Change And Human Health

CLIMATE CHANGE IS POSING HEALTH CHALLENGES AND EMERGENCIES

Increasing temperatures, reduced precipitation, the increasing risk of drought, and other climate change-related conditions do not only harm the ecosystem but also the health of individuals living in affected regions. Health crises arising from climate change can be attributed to the disruption of the food supply chain, increase in vector-borne diseases, and changing temperatures.[1] The World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts that climate change will cause 250,000 additional deaths per year from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, and heat stroke between 2030 and 2050.

Developing countries especially in Asia and Africa are projected to suffer the most health impacts caused by climate change. This is because of the low resilience and weak capacity to adapt quickly to rapidly changing climatic conditions. The health sector in Africa faces many challenges, including?poor infrastructure, lack of funds, and inadequate human resources.?According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa has more than 24% of the world's disease burden, but only 3% of health workers and less than 1% of the world's financial resources.?

The climate crisis is also lessening the availability of basic human needs such as food, drinking water, and clean air.[2] Most of the health crises arising from climate change include vector-borne diseases such as malaria, food-related diseases such as malnutrition, kwashiorkor in children, etc, and waterborne diseases such as cholera, and dysentery. These diseases are deadly and have accounted for a significant loss of life over the years. Thus, there is an urgent need for everyone to lend their voice or deed to global action and for government agencies and relevant stakeholders in the health sector to revamp the sector to withstand the shock of climate change and its accompanying diseases.

?

IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON HEALTH

With climate change effects, the demand for health care and health services is continually on the increase. It impairs and overstretches the healthcare sector’s ability to adequately respond to emergencies, especially in a country like Nigeria where the existing healthcare facilities cannot cater to the citizen's health demands.

The direct impacts of climate change on health are many. Excessive heat waves have made room for the rapid growth of pathogens especially in regions that have little immunity and resistance. Changes in precipitation levels resulting in flooding contaminate water bodies and sources of drinking water thereby leading to illnesses like cholera, dysentery, and even death.[3] Vector-borne diseases are also not left out of the direct impacts of climate change. These diseases carrying vectors thrive in extreme climatic conditions.

Climate change also comes with mental health challenges. Studies have shown that people who have been displaced from their homes due to the changing climatic conditions have found it difficult to settle somewhere else.[4] Apart from displacement, the disruptive influence of rising global temperatures and extreme weather events, compounds existing stressors experienced by individuals and communities. This has harmful effects on people’s mental health and emotional well-being and is particularly severe for those groups already disadvantaged within and across countries.

?

CONCLUSION

Combating the effects of climate change is no longer a choice but a necessity. While scaling up healthcare facilities is crucial for addressing the health issues caused by climate change, it is equally important to tackle the root cause itself. If we do not address climate change directly, even the most advanced healthcare systems may struggle to meet future health demands.

?

?

?

[1] Kevin Conrad, ‘The Era of Climate Change Medicine – Challenge to Health Care System’ (2023) 23(7-8) ?Ochsner Journal < https://www.ochsnerjournal.org/content/ochjnl/23/1/7.full.pdf > accessed 25 July 2024.

[2] World Bank, ‘Health and Climate Change’ (World Bank, 5 April 2024) < https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/health/brief/health-and-climate-change# > accessed 24 July 2024.

[3] Kevin Conrad, ‘The Era of Climate Change Medicine – Challenge to Health Care System’ Ochsner Journal (2023) 23(7-8) < https://www.ochsnerjournal.org/content/ochjnl/23/1/7.full.pdf > accessed 25 July 2024.

[4] Emma L. Lawrance and others, ‘The Impact of Climate Change on Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing: A Narrative Review of Current Evidence, and its Implications’ (2022) 34 (5) Internationa Review of Psychiatry 443-498 <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/09540261.2022.2128725?needAccess=true > accessed 25 July 2024.