WHO is responding to a growing number of humanitarian crises associated with climate change – from Pakistan’s floods to the Greater Horn of Africa’s drought – while helping countries worldwide strengthen their health systems for the challenges to come.
“The climate crisis is a health crisis,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing on 2 November. “Climate change is already impacting health in many ways, through more frequent and extreme weather events, more disease outbreaks, and more mental health issues.”
WHO is working through its more than 140 country offices to integrate climate action into its programmes – from air quality and energy to disaster preparedness and nutrition. Through the new Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH), WHO has united 60-plus countries to undertake practical climate and health action on the ground.
During COP27, the United Nations annual climate meeting (6-18 November in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt), WHO and partners will ensure that health and equity stay at the center of negotiations.
This week we highlight stories on climate change and health from Haiti, Kenya, Lebanon, Malawi, the Marshall Islands, Syria, Uganda, and more.
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WHO helps countries battling the resurgence of an “old-time killer”
WHO is helping countries handle this year’s upsurge in outbreaks of cholera, a disease linked to floods, droughts, conflict, population movements and other factors that limit access to clean water.
“Cholera is an old-time killer, but it is also one we can put an end to,” WHO’s Dr Tedros said. “We know how to stop cholera before it starts: with safe water, and well-maintained sanitation and hygiene.”
WHO is providing cholera kits, vaccines, laboratory equipment, expert personnel, rapid diagnostic tests, water purification and rehydration supplies and other tools needed to stop the life-threatening bacterial infection.
In October, the governments of Italy and Norway made special contributions to help WHO fight a cholera outbreak in war-torn Syria, whose overstretched health system has reported 942 cases and 44 deaths.
⦁ Read about special contributions for Syria from Italy and Norway
⦁ See regional stories on WHO’s work against cholera in: Haiti, Lebanon and Malawi.
See also: Cholera’s resurgence in Haiti a reminder of how quickly diseases spread, PAHO Director says
Kenya scales up health response as regional drought persists
In drought-stricken parts of Kenya, outreach teams supported by WHO are treating children for malnutrition and providing other vital health services.
“People who are malnourished become sick more easily, and sick people become malnourished more easily,” said Dr Egmond Evers, WHO Incident Manager for Food Insecurity and Drought for the Greater Horn of Africa. “The combination is very bad. We need to step up control and response to outbreak-prone disease and provide essential health services, including vaccines and treatment for severe malnutrition. It is not too late to still save many lives.”
Contact tracers and village health teams take on Ebola in Uganda
Health assistant Nyangoma Kirrungi has been working to stop the spread of Ebola since Uganda’s outbreak began in September.
“Once they record a confirmed case of Ebola, my team and I go to the field to follow up with the patient's contacts to ensure that they are symptom-free and then we remain on alert to identify and report symptoms should they develop," she said.
Climate change is a factor in the rise in Ebola cases over the past two decades, Dr Patrick Otim, WHO Africa’s Incident Manager for the Ebola outbreak in Uganda, told a news conference last week. He explained that bats and other animal hosts of the Ebola virus are driven into new areas when temperatures change or weather crises occur, sometimes bringing them into closer contact with humans.
Read more about the Ebola contact tracers
Also see: Global health agencies support Ugandan response to Ebola outbreak
Nepal fights record dengue outbreak with WHO support
WHO is helping Nepal launch search-and-destroy campaigns to get rid of dengue-carrying mosquitos as the country battles an outbreak that has infected about 42 000 people this year, killing more than 50.
The Organization has also provided 30 000 diagnostic kits, trained hundreds of medical staff, conducted disease surveillance, and worked on a publicity campaign to raise awareness about dengue.
WATCH: “Climate change and dengue”
Related news: New WHO initiative aims to stop the spread of malaria-carrying mosquitos in Africa
Marshall Islands strengthens its health systems to meet the challenges of climate change
WHO and the Marshall Islands are working together on an 18-month project to prepare the country for health emergencies related to climate change.
“Like the rest of the Pacific, the Marshall Islands is on the frontlines of the climate crisis,” said Dr Mark Jacobs, WHO’s Director of Pacific Technical Support. “The evidence shows that the country is already facing increasing drought, sea-level rise and inundation, all of which have impacts on health. But the country is also at the vanguard of adapting and responding to this crisis, which is why we are proud to be working with the Marshallese government on this project, with support from the Green Climate Fund. “
WHO targets fungi that endanger public health
WHO has published a report on the fungi that represent the greatest threat to public health, a step toward strengthening the global response to fungal infections, including those resistant to the treatments now in use.
“Emerging from the shadows of the bacterial antimicrobial resistance pandemic, fungal infections are growing, and are ever more resistant to treatments, becoming a public health concern worldwide,” said Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Assistant Director-General, Antimicrobial Resistance.
The geographic range of fungal diseases is expanding, evidence shows, spurred by global warming and an increase in international travel and trade.
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WHO thanks all governments, organizations and individuals who are contributing to the Organization’s work, and in particular those who have provided fully flexible contributions to maintain a strong, independent WHO.
Donors and partners featured in this week’s stories include: the Public Health Agency of Canada, CEPI, the European Union, Fiocruz, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, the Green Climate Fund, Instituto de Medicina Tropical Pablo Kouri, Italy, Norway, Pasteur Institute International Network, USAID, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Wellcome Trust and the World Meteorological Organization.