Protecting our Health from Professionals Climate Change: a Training Course for Public Health

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Protecting our Health from Professionals Climate
Change a Training Course for Public Health

• Chapter 18 Regional Action Plan for South-East
  Asia

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Outline

• South-East Asia (SEA) countries most vulnerable
• Regional consensus on need for climate action
• National climate action plans
• Conclusions

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Map of the South-East Asia Region
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Hotspots of Security Risks Associated with
Climate Change The Asian Challenge
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Hotspots of Security Risks Associated with
Climate Change The Asian Challenge (cont.)
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Developing Climate Action Plans
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Regional Action Plan to Protect Human Health from
Climate Change

• The regional plan has three broader objectives
• To increase awareness of the health consequences
  of climate change
• To strengthen health system capacity to provide
  protection from climate-related risks and to
  substantially reduce health systems greenhouse
  gas emissions
• To ensure that health concerns are addressed in
  all decisions on reducing risks from climate
  change taken by other key sectors

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Increasing Awareness of Health Consequences of
Climate Change
Warmer temperatures will favour outbreaks of
water-borne illnesses
Diarrhoeal diseases accounted for 20.1 of deaths
in children less than five years of age in 2005
in the SEA region
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Strengthen Health Systems Capacity

• Develop national action plans for health,
  integrated with existing national plans
• Incorporate current and projected climate change
  risks into existing health policies, plans, and
  programmes
• Strengthen existing infrastructure and
  interventions, including human resource capacity
• Strengthen public health systems and
  disaster/emergency preparedness and response
  activities, including psychosocial support

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Strengthen Health Systems Capacity (cont.)

• Provide early warning systems to support prompt
  and effective responses to current and projected
  health burdens
• Implement adaptations specific to local health
  determinants to facilitate the development of
  community-based resource management
• Determined costs and benefits of different
  interventions
• Establish climate change focal points
• Establish programmes to reduce GHG emissions by
  the health sector

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Reduce Risks from Climate Change in Other Key
Sectors

• Incorporate current and projected climate change
  risks into existing policies, legislation,
  strategies, and measures of key development
  sectors to control climate-sensitive health
  outcomes
• Facilitate the health sector to actively
  participate in national communications to the
  United Framework Convention on Climate Change
  (UNFCCC), and include health issues as the core
  elements in the negotiation process
• Ensure active health participation in the
  national climate change team

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WHO Support Global Work Plan to Protect Health
from Climate Change

• Aim Support health systems in all countries,
  identify strategies and actions, share knowledge
  and good practices
• Provide awareness and capacity building in
  addressing the challenges posed to health by
  climate change for health-sector professionals,
  other key sector NGOs, youth groups, and consumer
  organizations and networks
• Support the empowerment of local communities to
  become more climate change resilient
• Strengthen health systems capacity and notably
  that of public health programmes that are already
  addressing climate-sensitive diseases
• Engage in partnerships with other sectors and
  agencies at national, regional, and international
  levels
• Promote and support the generation of scientific
  evidence through research

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Creating Awareness World Health Day 2008

• World Health Day (WHD) 2008 focused on the theme
  Protecting health from climate change and was
  commemorated in all SEA region countries
• WHO-SEARO (Southeast Asia Regional Office)
  produced an information kit containing materials
  to promote commitment and drive action for change
  among all sectors of society to work together and
  reduce the adverse impacts of climate change on
  human health
• Most WHD 2008 celebrations in SEA countries saw
  the active participation of national health
  authorities who declared their commitment such
  as in India, Maldives, and Myanmar to engage
  the health sector much more in addressing the
  challenges posed by climate change
• More at www.searo.who.int/

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Bangladesh

• Objectives for health action
• To increase knowledge and awareness of the
  health consequences from climate change within
  and outside the health sector
• To prepare mitigation and adaptation plans based
  on a vulnerability assessment of the national
  health systems
• To ensure coordination with, and advocate for,
  decisions on climate change in other key sectors
  that enhance public health

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Bhutan

• National health priorities are
• Overall awareness on climate change and climate
  variability and its adverse impacts on human
  health are increased and staff are trained
• Emergency preparedness plans to reduce life loss
  and injury from flash floods are developed
• The burden from disease vectors is reduced
  through the implementation of community-based,
  integrated vector management
• Rural water quality and sanitation are improved
  and maintained by the concerned communities

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Indonesia

• Priority activities outlined to be initiated
• Increase public awareness
• Develop and disseminate IEC materials to
  minimize GHG emissions
• Capacity building within the health sector
• Expand research and development on climate change
  and health effects
• Update national health policy to increase
  resilience to climate change issues
• Adapt to potential health risks from water and
  food scarcity
• Coordinate and network with relevant sectors and
  actors, with particular focus on health

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India
Multicentric studies are required to assess
respiratory diseases sensitive to climate change,
links between water quality and diarrhoeal
disease and climate change (Bay of Bengal, Ganges
- Brahmaputra river basin, a priority area) the
impact of Global warming and Ultra Violet
Radiation (UVR) exposure on ocular
health vulnerability assessment and impact of
climate change on Malaria,Dengue, Chikungunya and
JE, to provide evidence for taking proactive
measures.  How to develop infrastructure at
Primary Health centre level to handle the
psychiatry cases due to loss of property and
life. Indian Agricultural Research carrying out
impact assessment of climate change on major
crops to to map adaptive capacity by
farmers. National authorities plan to improve
supply food during drought. Institutes/persons
have been identified for undertaking studies on
vulnerability assessment and adaptation needs.
Multicentric studies are required to assess
respiratory diseases sensitive to climate change,
links between water quality and diarrhoeal
disease and climate change (Bay of Bengal, Ganges
- Brahmaputra river basin, a priority area) the
impact of Global warming and Ultra Violet
Radiation (UVR) exposure on ocular
health vulnerability assessment and impact of
climate change on Malaria,Dengue, Chikungunya and
JE, to provide evidence for taking proactive
measures.  How to develop infrastructure at
Primary Health centre level to handle the
psychiatry cases due to loss of property and
life. Indian Agricultural Research carrying out
impact assessment of climate change on major
crops to to map adaptive capacity by
farmers. National authorities plan to improve
supply food during drought. Institutes/persons
have been identified for undertaking studies on
vulnerability assessment and adaptation needs.
Multicentric studies are required to assess
respiratory diseases sensitive to climate change,
links between water quality and diarrhoeal
disease and climate change (Bay of Bengal, Ganges
- Brahmaputra river basin, a priority area) the
impact of Global warming and Ultra Violet
Radiation (UVR) exposure on ocular
health vulnerability assessment and impact of
climate change on Malaria,Dengue, Chikungunya and
JE, to provide evidence for taking proactive
measures.  How to develop infrastructure at
Primary Health centre level to handle the
psychiatry cases due to loss of property and
life. Indian Agricultural Research carrying out
impact assessment of climate change on major
crops to to map adaptive capacity by
farmers. National authorities plan to improve
supply food during drought. Institutes/persons
have been identified for undertaking studies on
vulnerability assessment and adaptation needs.

• The National Climate Change Action
  Plan considers eight missions, but no specific
  one focuses on health concerns
• A Task Force has been set up to prioritizehealth
  action, inter alia by conducting multicentric
  studies to assess
• Respiratory diseases sensitive to climate change
• Links between water quality and diarrhoeal
  disease and climate change (Bay of Bengal, Ganges
  Brahmaputra river basin, a priority area)
• The impact on ocular health
• Vulnerability assessment of malaria, dengue,
  chikungunya, and Japanese encephalitis (JE), to
  provide evidence for taking proactive measures
  vis a vis climate change effects
• How to develop infrastructure in primary health
  centres to handle psychiatry cases due to loss of
  property and life
• Impact of climate change on major crops, to map
  adaptive capacity and improve supply food during
  droughts
• Institutes/persons have been identified for
  undertaking studies on vulnerability assessment
  and adaptation needs

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Nepal

• Improve the understanding of public health
  authorities on the linkages between climate
  change/variability and health
• Conduct research for evidence generation
• Assess vulnerabilities and identify
  interventions for mitigation and for adaptation
• Identify adaptation needs and options derived
  from the challenges posed by future sudden
  and/or large climate changes
• Improve current public health programmes in
  intersectoral collaboration with the Ministries
  (water, agriculture, urban development, etc.)
• Strengthen institutions and mechanisms that can
  systematically promote interactions among
  researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders

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Maldives

• Maldives revised its NAPA in 2009
• The main health components focus on
• Assessing health vulnerability and identify
  adaptation measures
• Adapting to sea-level rise
• Conserving water and harvesting rainwater
• Implementing sanitation and sound waste
  management
• Implementing an integrated approach to manage
  disease vectors
• Preparing to respond better to health impacts
  from extreme weather events

Source earthobservatory.nasa
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Thailand

• Build capacity to adapt and reduce
  vulnerabilities to climate change
• Promote greenhouse gas mitigation activities
  based on sustainable development
• Support research and development to better
  understand climate change, its impacts, and
  adaptation and mitigation options
• Raise awareness and promote public participation
• Build capacity of relevant personnel and
  institutions, and establish a framework of
  coordination and integration
• Support international cooperation to achieve the
  common goal of climate change mitigation and
  sustainable development

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Conclusions

• While the awareness that climate change is
  happening now has increased immensely in the last
  two years in most SEA countries, health
  professionals have not yet fully understood the
  implications for health and the urgency for
  action
• National climate action plans have been prepared
  by most countries, yet the health dimensions are
  still neglected
• At the same time, there are national experts in
  many countries who have gathered evidence on
  health impacts and prepared proposals for action

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Conclusions (cont.)

• Most actions focus on awareness building,
  capacity development, and research and policy
  development few focus on supporting community
  resilience
• Health sector does not yet fully participate in
  national, regional, or global debates on climate
  change
• The actions plans developed with support from WHO
  need to be integrated into national plans and
  institutionalized to ensure their implementation
• A positive step forward is this course!