ON the occasion of marking Earth Day in April last year, Pope Francis said very inspiring words in relation to taking care of nature. Citing a Spanish proverb, he said “God always forgives, human beings sometimes forgive, but nature never forgives.” Pope Francis was making a direct link between destructive human activities and environmental degradation, which contributes to climate change.

His words carry with them a strong message to us today, not only as Tanzanians, but also as global citizens. The impacts of climate change are very diverse. Tanzania has not yet recovered from the devastating impacts of floods in different parts of the country. Besides floods, the tropical cyclone, Hidaya, hit with varying intensity some coastal areas from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam.

As a result, some Tanzanians had their houses, crops and property badly damaged, including in some cases losses of lives. The most affected victims have been directed to relocate to safer areas where they will start establishing new settlements and this implies starting again from scratch.

There are global, regional and national efforts to mitigate climate change impacts on human health. When prolonged droughts or floods strike they are often accompanied by disease outbreaks which cost governments billions of money to address.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) Insight Report of January 2024 titled “Quantifying the Impact of Climate Change on Human Health” suggests ways on how to mitigate climate change impacts on human health. The report highlights six major climate-driven event categories analysed as important drivers of negative health impacts. These are floods, droughts, heat waves, tropical storms, wildfires and rising sea levels. It suggests that by 2050, climate change will place immense strain on global healthcare systems, causing 14.5 million deaths and $12.5 trillion in economic losses.

Furthermore, it says climate change impacts will account for further $1.1 trillion in extra costs to healthcare systems, adding a significant burden on already strained infrastructure, medical and human resources and thus aggravating global health inequalities.

The most affected populations, according to the report, are women, the youth, the elderly, lower-income groups and hard-to-reach communities will be in Africa and southern Asia. Thus, according to the report, climate change is transforming the landscape of morbidity and mortality and is already having profound impacts on human health and health systems. In this regard, immediate impacts include deaths, physical injuries, malnutrition, respiratory and cardiovascular ailments and exposure to infectious diseases, such as cholera, dysentery and typhoid, which result from drinking contaminated water or eating contaminated food.

“The stress, trauma and displacement caused by climate-related disasters can be expected to produce a surge in mental health illnesses, including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In fact, a rise in mental health conditions is an outcome that all six climate events share,” according to the WEF report.

The report suggests that in sub-Saharan Africa, southern Asia and Central America, about 80 million people will be at risk of hunger by 2050. “Not only do these populations already face higher risk of food insecurity, but they are also less likely to receive adequate relief to address the devastation to livelihoods, property, and food and water supplies.”

Therefore, understanding climate change-human health connections is crucial for designing effective public health policies and building healthcare systems resilient enough to withstand and mitigate the effects of climate change, the report says.

The following six weather-related events, suggests the report, will define the destructive impacts of climate change on human health worldwide. The incidence of floods is likely to cause about 8.5 million deaths, prolonged droughts 3.2 million deaths worldwide, heat waves are expected to claim about 1.6 million lives by 2050 , with those aged 65 and older persons being the most susceptible to prolonged extreme temperature. There is also the impact of tropical storms expected to result in an additional one-half million deaths by 2050, while the devastating spread of wildfires is predicted to claim another 300,000 lives and rising sea levels will result in 100,000 more lives lost.

Thus, the report suggests the following as mitigating measures. There is a need to develop or improve two crucial areas: resistance, the ability to prevent, reduce or delay climate change’s impacts on humans, and recovery, by providing fast stabilisation of the affected populations and healthcare infrastructure and effective treatment of long-term consequences. Communities must focus on effectiveness and accessibility as top strategic objectives.

These can include adaptation planning, infrastructure resilience, disease surveillance and response, capacity building, innovative research and development, continuous evidence gathering and policy integration. It will also require global cooperation to develop solutions that fortify the global health infrastructure and the willingness to invest in mitigation interventions. 

But for this to work effectively it must first start at the local level by involving communities in both short and long-term climate change mitigation interventions. Therefore, we can decide either to reduce the impacts of climate change on human health by taking responsible action or accelerate them if we think it is not our concern. The choice is ours!