At ASSSA, we are focused on caring for health. We wish to dedicate this article to one of the most pressing socioeconomic and health-related problems we face at the moment and which Will reach its climax over the next decades: climatic change.
The temperature of the planet is increasing quite quickly due to the greenhouse effect gas emissions caused by the action of men, such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. Climatic change negatively affects, through different means, some of the most important determinants of health, such as food, air, and water. Global warming Will be gradual, but the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather conditions such as torrential rains, heat waves, draughts, and floods Will be manifested abruptly and their consequences perceived acutely. These phenomena Will alter food and wáter supplies.
Over the last three decades, climatic change has had prejudicial effects on numerous physical and biological systems worldwide, including a negative impact on water, ecosystems, coastlines and human health. These effects Will be increasingly pronounced in line with the progressive increase of temperature globally. This rise temperature Will change the distribution of diversity of contagious illnesses transmitted by vectors, food or water, thus increasing their incidence. Diarrhea, malaria and protein-energy malnutrition cause over, 3, 3 million deaths per year, one-third of which occur in Africa.
An increasingly hot atmosphere is changing the distribution of rain. The amount of rain and snow has proliferated considerably in northern Europe, while droughts in the South are more and more common. Extreme temperatures are more usual and heat waves are more regular. As air quality worsens, especially due to the contamination of the ozone so does the prevalence of respiratory illnesses-asthma, bronchitis, emphysema. All of this Will impact a number of hospital admissions and absence from work and school.
The impact in sanitation Will be disproportionately greater amongst more vulnerable populations: children, elderly and the ill. Likewise, the poorest countries and those with precarious infrastructures Will be affected the most. One particularly worrisome fact is that some African countries have a high incidence rate of climate-sensitive illnesses while having scarce public health services to respond to these. While the problem forms a scientific perspective and its sociosanitary consequences in relation to health are sufficiently clear, the socioeconomic aspect reveals major gaps. The work of prestigious economist is required in order to help us understand the effects of specific measures, what socioeconomic conditions Will await us, and the effects of employment and economic activities of a transition to a low-carbon economy.
Countries should impose and implement measures to limit gas emissions and take measures to promote the use of renewable energy sources, and assimilate a new culture based on geographic mobility, provide adequate infrastructures for the use of collective transportation, and reduce practices which emit greenhouse effect gases. Another important debate is related to Nuclear energy. We need alternative fuels. Today, renewable energies alone are insufficient to produce the energy we need.
Efforts made in the fight against climatic change may have serious consequences for many workers through the elimination of their Jobs. If we do nothing now, the whole of the world's countries Will have to dedicate 20% of the global GDP to the fight against the effects resulting from global warming and our adaptation to it. The first priority in avoiding catastrophic consequences is to reduce, as soon as possible and to a major degree, global emissions. A fast transition must be made toward global emissions. A fast transition must be made toward a global economy based on low carbon emissions. Global warming must be limited to no more than 2ºC as of the temperature of pre-industrial times.
Given the fact that climatic change is already a reality, the second challenge which society must face is the adaptation to both present and future repercussions of climatic change in order to minimize these. Efforts to adapt to climatic change must be carried out at all levels and actions must be well coordinated. We must develop flood-resistant crops, a more efficient use of hydraulic resources, evaluate our defenses unto floods… etc.
If investment in infrastructure is expensive, the damage which these extreme climatic conditions may cause would be much more costly. In short, we must strengthen our health system in order to face the threats posed by climatic change. We must assess our social vulnerability as well as that of our employment and design active labor market policies. Education and training of workers in environmentally friendly technologies must be promoted. Financial investments must be oriented towards activities which generate “Green” and decent employment, transforming traditional sectors into more ecological ones. Strategies for social innovation must be promoted in order to change behaviors and organizations.
From our Medical department, we want to refer to and show evidence of our worry about this issue which apparently does not affect us directly at the moment, but we only need to reflect on our day-to-day reality and notice all the natural disasters which occur and that affect a great part of humankind. The participation of everyone, governments, and citizens, is required in order to face the serious problem ahead of us.
Dr. D. Juan A. Andreo Medical Director, ASSSA.
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