In Africabetween 2001 and 2021 were recorded at least 2,121 health emergencies56% of which climate-related. In 2019 alone, around 1.1 million people in the African region died prematurely from air pollution-related diseases, which represents one-sixth of the global estimate of annual deaths of 7 million. In our recent memory there is the Cyclone Freddy in southern Africa that has killed at least 676 people and displaced thousands in Malawidestroying massive infrastructure including health facilities, roads, schools and water systems.
The hot global era: Let’s focus on health to tackle the climate crisis
The health of people and the health of the planet are inextricably linked, the science is clear on this. According to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ipcc), the shift in average temperatures aggravates the onset of existing health conditions, such as malaria and other vector-borne diseases. A summary of the same report by OMA illustrates how health systems can easily be paralyzed by climate change. Additionally, a study published earlier this year by Royal Society shows that climate change has caused the mosquito that causes malaria to move into areas that it previously did not find favorable for reproduction. In a country like the Kenyafor example, studies have shown that the prevalence of malaria it is moving from known endemic regions, especially around the lake region, towards the highlands.
These staggering statistics paint a devastating picture of the loss and destruction of lives and livelihoods that climate change and its intersection with the health of our people has brought. For this reason, we believe that we should not talk about climate change without mentioning the statistics of people dying and suffering from climate-related health conditions. This year, for the first time, the largest world summit on the climate organized annually by United Nations will have a day dedicated precisely to the issue of the impact of climate change on health. The president of 28th Conference of the Parties (Cop28) , Sultan Al Jabermade the announcement earlier this year, stating that this integration will broaden the scope of climate adaptation and promote climate resilienceas well as strengthening other mitigation measures.
The World Health Organization (WHO) analysis of the IPCC reveals that losses and damage have a impact directed on public health, with economic costs and more. As they say, “health is wealth”: a country’s economy will suffer when people affected by climate crisis they will not be able to afford the healthcare they need to improve their quality of life. Furthermore, like the experience of pandemic has shown, a population with serious health problems risks suffering the loss of its cultural heritage, precious indigenous knowledge, social and cultural identity, with important consequences also on mental health. These realities demonstrate the need to do something salute and’agenda key to the summits on climate.
The Africa Climate Summit, a missed opportunity?
Il Africa climate summit represents a crucial moment to address climate and health, a matter of life and death for our people. The tragic irony is not lost on us. For a long time, African leaders have prioritized inanimate things, energy, agriculture and how tiny our continent’s contribution to global emissions of greenhouse gases, yet they are ours community to bear the brunt of the devastating impacts of climate change.
Unfortunately, the organizers appear to have overlooked the urgency of this health crisis, which remains conspicuously absent from the Summit’s agenda. This is not a simple oversight, but a worrying omission that risks wasting a golden opportunity to amplify Africa’s voice on a global stage, especially with the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the Cop28 that loom on the horizon.
We cannot afford to miss this opportunity. With the salute from the African communities at stake, we must seize the moment to call for the inclusion of health in the climate change dialogue, ensuring that the vulnerabilities and needs ofAfrica are not only listened to, but also taken into consideration global market.
Unified African position
Nonetheless, promising change is emerging: key actors such as African health ministers and civil society organizations, including Amref Health Africa, are leading the charge to frame health as central to the climate agenda, laying the groundwork for important policy initiatives. Their efforts represent a strategic move to direct the attention of dialogues on climate towards a more holistic approach and urgent.
A regional meeting held in Malawi last week, with climate health experts and members ofThe African Group of Negotiators (ANG)served as a precursor to the position dell’Africa on health at Cop28. The common position will be shared with ministers and key partners at the Climate Summit and will be presented at United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on the occasion of Cop28.
Africa must advance investment opportunities that help protect vulnerable communities. These discussions will be presented in the COP28 negotiating rooms later this year and will hopefully lead to engagements legally binding.
To win the debate on the climate crisis, health must play a leading role, especially in “era of global boiling“, as the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres. We need to start seeing the climate crisis as more than just one global challenge abstract, but like a health problem urgent that needs to be dealt with urgency.
Credit foto Tony Wild