WHO Says Climate Change Will Erode Foundations of Health

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WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan warned today on the occasion of World Health Day that climate change is affecting human health. Chan warned that the change brought about by climate change are attacking the pillars of public health.

In addition, the press release says that, the changes are providing a glimpse of the challenges public health will have to confront on a large scale.


"The core concern is succinctly stated: climate change endangers human health," said Dr Chan. "The warming of the planet will be gradual, but the effects of extreme weather events -- more storms, floods, droughts and heat waves -- will be abrupt and acutely felt. Both trends can affect some of the most fundamental determinants of health: air, water, food, shelter and freedom from disease."

The effects of climate-sensitive diseases are already being felt and these diseases today kill millions. They include malnutrition, which causes over 3.5 million deaths per year, diarrhoeal diseases, which kill over 1.8 million, and malaria, which kills almost 1 million.

Examples already provide us with images of the future:

• European heat wave, 2003: Estimates suggest that approximately 70 000 more people died in that summer than would have been expected.
• Rift Valley fever in Africa: Major outbreaks are usually associated with rains, which are expected to become more frequent as the climate changes.
• Hurricane Katrina, 2005: More than 1 800 people died and thousands more were displaced. Additionally, health facilities throughout the region were destroyed critically affecting health infrastructure.
• Malaria in the East African highlands: In the last 30 years, warmer temperatures have also created more favourable conditions for mosquito populations in the region and therefore for transmission of malaria.
• Epidemics of cholera in Bangladesh: They are closely linked to flooding and unsafe water.
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Climate change is not the only factor at work but they are the types of challenges we expect to become more frequent and intense with climate changes. They will further strain health resources that, in many regions, are already under severe stress.

"Although climate change is a global phenomenon, its consequences will not be evenly distributed," said Dr Chan. "In short, climate change can affect problems that are already huge, largely concentrated in the developing world, and difficult to control."

"Through its own actions and its support to Member States," said Dr Chan, "WHO is committed to do everything it can to ensure all is done to protect human health from climate change."