Health and Climate change

I have attended, on behalf of Women For Africa Foundation, the first global conference on Climate Change and Health convened by WHO. I will upload the main conclusions soon.
All in all it has been a very interesting multilateral meeting with a considerable participation of a number of Ministers of Health from the Member States and representatives of civil society organizations from all over the Globe.
Climate change is not merely an environmental challenge. It is a multidimensional phenomenon with miltisectoral implications. We have been discussing the impact of climate change on health. Health will suffer from water shortage, the spread of water and food borne diseases as well as vector borne diseases, from the consequences of extreme weather events, etc. The health systems of many States are not prepared to deal with additional strain caused by climate change. The challenge is to strengthen those systems and infrastructures related to health. On the other hand by combatting the root causes of climate change we will be bringing improvement to global human health. The need to have more resilient health infrastructures that can for example endure natural disasters and more greeny hospitals was also raised by the participants.
There was also general agreement that the participation of ministers of health in the climate change negotiations should be promoted.
More to follow.