By Awa Sowe
Climate change affects global health via multiple direct and indirect pathways. Every year, disasters involving weather- and climate-related hazards result in thousands of deaths worldwide and contribute to the global burden of disease. Direct health consequences may derive from changes in temperature and precipitation, and human exposure to heatwaves, wildfires, floods, and droughts. These include an increase in cardiovascular mortality during events of extreme heat; a higher incidence of chronic kidney disease among outdoor workers in hot areas; and fatalities and multiple negative health consequences of fire smoke inhalation during wildfires
Climate change presents a fundamental threat to human health. It affects the physical environment as well as all aspects of both natural and human systems – including social and economic conditions and the functioning of health systems. It is therefore a threat multiplier, undermining and potentially reversing decades of health progress. As climatic conditions change, more frequent and intensifying weather and climate events are observed, including storms, extreme heat, floods, droughts and wildfires. These weather and climate hazards affect health both directly and indirectly, increasing the risk of deaths, non-communicable diseases, the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, and health emergencies.
Climate change is also having an impact on our health workforce and infrastructure, reducing capacity to provide universal health coverage (UHC). All aspects of health are affected by climate change, from clean air, water and soil to food systems and livelihoods. Further delay in tackling climate change will increase health risks, undermine decades of improvements in global health, and contravene collective commitments to ensure the human right to health for all.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) concluded that climate risks are appearing faster and will become more severe sooner than previously expected, and it will be harder to adapt with increased global heating.
It further reveals that 3.6 billion people already live in areas highly susceptible to climate change. Despite contributing minimally to global emissions, low-income countries and small island developing states (SIDS) endure the harshest health impacts. In vulnerable regions, the death rate from extreme weather events in the last decade was 15 times higher than in less vulnerable ones.
Nearly 200 nations reached a deal on Wednesday in Dubai at the COP 22 Global Climate Conference that called for a transition away from fossil fuels, the first time they were mentioned directly in a COP agreement. This year, an increased focus of the conference was the ways in which climate change and burning fossil fuels affects health
The focus on how climate change affects health is fairly new. In the last two years, the health presence from around the world at these meetings has skyrocketed; from physicians and nurses to physical therapists and public health leaders. These medical practitioners are now attending in larger numbers because they are seeing consequences for patients: in clinics, in hospitals and across populations everywhere.
Session after session during the COP meetings laid out the multiplicity of ways climate change and burning fossil fuels affect health. Along with the increasing frequency and intensity of heat waves across the globe, there was concern about “lethal humidity,” which in threatening the body’s ability to cool itself makes high temperatures more dangerous.
Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President, underscored the United Arab Emirates’ unwavering commitment to climate action, highlighting the role of the nation’s visionary leadership and the collective determination of its people and residents in solidifying its global position as a pioneer in climate action.
He emphasized that the UAE’s approach of openness, partnership building, and cooperation has been instrumental in raising the bar of ambition and achieving tangible progress in addressing climate change.
Sultan Ahmed Al Jabermade the statements during the COP28 media majlis, which was attended on Wednesday by the conference presidency team. It served as a platform to showcase the remarkable strides made in the lead-up to COP28.
Al Jaber commended the COP28 team’s dedication and highlighted significant contributions to various areas, including the Loss and Damage Fund to support nations already grappling with the impacts of climate change. Also, in response to the call of the conference presidency, 85 percent of the world’s economies have committed to triple the production capacity of renewable energy sources by 2030, while many oil and gas companies have also, for the first time, committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, and to reducing methane emissions to “net zero” by 2030.
Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, applauded the COP28 team’s efforts on the food security front and underscored the UAE’s unwavering commitment to addressing food and agriculture issues within the conference agenda.
She stressed that tackling the global food crisis requires a collective effort, extending beyond governments and the private sector. She advocated for a shift in human lifestyles and consumption patterns to effectively contribute to improving livelihoods.
Razan Al Mubarak, the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion from the COP28 Presidency, highlighted her mission to mobilize stakeholders, inspire action, and empower all segments of society and its institutions to play a leading role in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. She showcased examples of the conference presidency team’s successful efforts in supporting global climate neutrality initiatives.
In hosting the 5th International symposium on climate change adaptation in Africa in March 2023, Professor Pierre Gomez, Minister of Higher Education, stated that climate change is a very challenging phenomenon throughout the world but more so in least developing countries like The Gambia that have low capacity in terms of funding, research and implementation of climate adaptation.
“It is widely known that Africa is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change impact. As reported in the sixth assessment report of the inter-governmental panel on climate change, climate change is expected to have a wide impact on African societies and African interaction with the natural environment,” the minister said.
He explained that there are also signs that the impacts of climate change are already being felt across all sectors including education. He urged the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to consider and provide more funding in order for team Gambia and team Germany to carry out more research in climate change adaptation so that most vulnerable communities could adequately adapt to the impact of climate change to increase their resilience.
The rapid growth in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including injury and poor mental health, in low- and middle-income countries and the widening social gradients in NCDs within most countries worldwide pose major challenges to health and social systems and to development more generally. As Earth’s surface temperature rises, a consequence of human-induced climate change, incidences of severe heat waves, droughts, storms, and floods will increase and become more severe.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) kill 41 million people each year, equivalent to 74% of all deaths globally. Each year, 17 million people die from an NCD before age 70; 86% of these premature deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Of all NCD deaths, 77% are in low- and middle-income countries. Cardiovascular diseases account for most NCD deaths, or 17.9 million people annually, followed by cancers (9.3 million), chronic respiratory diseases (4.1 million), and diabetes (2.0 million including kidney disease deaths caused by diabetes). These 4 groups of diseases account for over 80% of all premature NCD deaths.
According to Omar Badjie programme Manager Non Communicable Dieses Ministry of Health These changes will bring heightened risks to human survival and will likely exacerbate the incidence of some NCDs, including cardiovascular disease, some cancers, respiratory health, mental disorders, injuries, and malnutrition. Well-designed climate change policy can reduce the incidence of major NCDs in local populations.
With the first Global Stock-take concluded at the COP 28, the new five-year cycle on climate action will begin under the Paris Agreement. With this in mind, the High-Level Champions, the Marrakech Partnership and other partners have compiled the ‘2030 Climate Solutions: an Implementation Roadmap a set of solutions framed in specific actions, with insights from a wide range of non-Party stakeholders on effective measures being undertaken that need to be scaled up and replicated as well as current gaps that need to be bridged to halve global emissions, to address adaptation gaps and increase the resilience of four billion people from vulnerable groups and communities to climate risks by 2030.The accountable implementation of the myriad of actions showcased, involving the collaboration between multiple actors across the global climate action agenda, could significantly contribute towards correcting the course and achieving climate action targets in this decisive decade.
