3.8 Human Health
There are opportunities for technology transfer in relation to the potential
health impacts at several levels. Minimisation of the health impacts of impending,
or unavoided future, climate change can entail:
- Reduction of the exposure of local populations to climate change and its
environmental and social consequences;
- Reduction of the vulnerability of local populations to those exposures;
- Improved care and treatment for those whose health is adversely affected.
With respect to the first of those three modalities, the health of communities
and populations depends fundamentally upon social and natural environmental
conditions. Therefore governments should be fully aware of the potential public
health impacts when assessing options for adaptation to climate change.
With respect to the second modality, population vulnerability can be reduced
generically by improving the social and technical circumstances and by reducing
socio-economic inequalities. Vulnerability can be reduced more specifically
by adaptations directed at specific exposures, or susceptibility to them. For
example, improved housing design and domestic temperature regulation can reduce
vulnerability to thermal stress, while vaccinations and control of "vector"
insects reduce the risks of various infectious diseases. The health gains from
these specific adaptations will largely be confined to the population taking
action.
With respect to the third issue, national public health infrastructure is of
fundamental importance. The poorest countries, where impacts are likely to be
greatest, are also least able to maintain a public health infrastructure. This
area should therefore be a priority for technology transfer.
Monitoring and Surveillance
The most elementary form of adaptation is good health monitoring and surveillance
systems. Within the health sector, only basic measures of population health
status (e.g., life expectancy) can be measured simply and uniformly around the
world. However, disease (morbidity) surveillance varies widely depending on
the locality, the country and the disease. Many less developed countries have
inadequate surveillance systems. Weather and climate forecasts should be used,
where appropriate, in preventing deaths and injuries, and in disease prevention
and control.
Control of infectious disease
The last decade has seen the resurgence of several major infectious diseases
which were previously controlled, such as malaria. International efforts to
control malaria - a known climate-sensitive disease - are failing because of
drug resistance and the socio-economic, geographical and ecological conditions
in much of today's world. The recent resurgence of malaria in areas where it
had previously been eradicated (Azerbaijan, Tajikistan) or under control (Iraq,
Turkey) reflects declines in malaria prevention and mosquito control programmes
due to conflict and economic crises. In Ethiopia, indoor spraying campaigns
with DDT were effective at reducing both malaria morbidity and mortality, but
over the last 20 years there has been a programmatic breakdown because of civil
war and the forced movement of people. WHO has recently launched a new initiative,
the "Roll Back Malaria" programme, to be implemented in close co-operation
with the World Bank and other international agencies.
The coverage of existing vaccination programmes aimed at elimination of diseases
such as yellow fever should be expanded. Other strategies are important to combat
diseases like malaria. For example, periodic checks should be carried out on
parasite sensitivity to the commonly used antimalarial drugs. The use of insecticide-impregnated
bed nets has been successful in reducing malaria transmission in endemic areas.
The incidence of certain water-borne and vector-borne infections can be reduced
by several environmental measures. A broader approach to preventing water- and
food-borne diseases would consider the interactions between climate, vegetation,
agricultural practices and human activity. Strategies to control climate-sensitive
disease require intersectoral collaboration between the health, forestry, environment,
and conservation sectors.
Improve coverage of health system
There are many existing health inequalities between rich and poor; these inequalities
are widest in developing country cities. Strategies to reduce poverty and improve
access to health services in urban environments will serve to reduce vulnerability
to climate change
Role of the UN system
Public policies to reduce socio-economic and environmental vulnerability will
enhance population capacity to adapt to climate change. Conventional health
sectors are not equipped nor empowered for this multidimensional task. International
co-operation is required, for data collection, analysis, and policy-making to
reduce health impacts.
The specialised agencies of the United Nations are primarily mandated to support
government planning and management in Member States, by strengthening sectors
such as industry, health and agriculture. Implementation of the following three-tier
strategy endorsed by the Interagency Committee for the Climate Agenda (IACCA)
is entrusted to WHO:
- assistance to Member States to promote vulnerability assessment, adaptation
strategies, and the adoption of technologies to promote health and reduce
GHG emissions;
- the exchange and provision of information on the health impacts of climate
change and of mitigation strategies, as well as effective approaches to adaptation;
- the promotion of research on the above topics.
|