Climate change a problem for health sector

Climate change is quickly becoming one of the biggest challenges to the health sector.

Pointing not only to the declining quality of air, and a rise in infectious diseases, Barbados’ Minister of Health, John Boyce, outlined that climate change also has an influence on Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases like diabetes.

From left to right: PAHO/WHO Representative at World
Health Organisation, Gerry Eijkemans, and Caribbean
Programme Co-ordinator, PAHO/WHO, Dr. Ernest Pate,
greet Barbados’ Minister of Health, John Boyce,
at the start of Tuesday’s workshop.

“According to the Diabetes and Climate Change report 2012, an increasing body of evidence shows that diabetes and climate change are directly linked. People with underlying medical conditions, such as diabetes are more vulnerable to the adverse health impacts of climate change. In hotter temperatures, dehydration and heat strokes increases morbidity and mortality in people with diabetes. People with diabetes are also predisposed to cardiovascular events during heat waves and higher mortality from heart attack on days of high air pollution,” he said.

He stressed therefore that the proper health programmes must be implemented to deal with such.

Addressing Tuesday’s opening ceremony of the Caribbean Climate Change and Health Workshop at the Amaryllis Hotel in Barbados, he said that Caribbean countries rank amongst most vulnerable to climate change particularly regarding the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events.

“Increase land degradation due to droughts and soil erosion due to heavy rainfall events and a rise in sea levels will lead to saline intrusion in aquifers of Caribbean countries which depend on underground water. Climate change and global warming will affect the social environmental determinants of health namely clean air, safe drinking water, food and shelter,” he pointed out.

According to World Health Organisation, between the 1970s and 2004, global warming has caused over 140 000 excess deaths per year and it is being estimated to costing between US$2-4 billion per year by 2030 in direct damage to health.

Boyce therefore said that it was evident that small island developing states must recognise that mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change require greater co-operation and co-ordination both at regional and international levels and that there was a need for a multi-disciplinary
approach to reduce the negative health impacts. (JMB)