26 March 2010: The March issue of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Bulletin features an editorial titled “Climate change and its potential impact on health: a call for integrated action,” authored by Jacob Kumaresan and Nalini Sathiakumar.
According to the editorial, growing scientific evidence points to vast and diverse effects of climate change on human health, such as increased spatial and temporal distribution of vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue. The authors recall WHO estimates according to which every year about 150,000 deaths occur worldwide in low-income countries because of the adverse effects of climate change.
They recommend developing capacity to protect human health in the face of climate change, calling for sustainable strategic planning and funding. They underscore the need for a concerted effort to involve national and local partnerships and stakeholder networks to develop comprehensive plans for addressing climate change impacts on human health.
The authors report on WHO’s commitment to working with States in the South-East Asia region to generate a regional evidence base and use it to promote integrated action at the country and regional levels. [The Editorial]