PAHO coordinating new project to tackle climate change and its health impacts

A broad-based project to support actions to mitigate climate change and its serious health impacts in Caribbean nations, has been launched.

The EU/CARIFORUM Strengthening Climate Resilient Health Systems Project – a joint project of the European Union and CARICOM that PAHO is coordinating – will advance public understanding of climate change effects and strengthen the ability of health systems to respond to climate-related health impacts.

"We are at a crucial point in time in the Americas, when we must increase our solidarity and intergovernmental collaboration to address climate issues, which are arguably the health challenges of the century. The Americas must embrace mechanisms for countries to come together around climate change,” PAHO Director Carissa F. Etienne recently stated.

She meanwhile noted that the project, which supports a cadre of new climate and health leaders, “promotes evidence for the frequently hidden health co-benefits of climate action and supports the implementation of health-related plans and resources for mitigation and adaptation for health”.

Etienne also noted that the EU/CARIFORUM Climate Change and Health Project will assist regional nations in accessing funding for coping with climate change.

The virtual meeting which was held this week, was attended by leading representatives of governments and organisations that are partners in the USD $8.28 million project, including Etienne, Secretary General of CARICOM, Irwin LaRocque, Dominica’s Minister of Health, Dr. Irving McIntyre, and Head of Delegation of the European Union to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean States Malgorzata Wasilewska. Partners in the project also include Caribbean universities, and regional climate, public health and agricultural agencies and organizations.

The beneficiary countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

“The WHO says that between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year, from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress,” said Irwin LaRocque.

“The direct cost to health is estimated to be between $2 to $4 billion per year by 2030. Tellingly, areas with weak health infrastructure, mostly in developing countries, will be the least able to cope without assistance to prepare and respond,” he added.

He therefore noted that in order to respond to climate change, CARICOM’s member states must have access to concessional development financing, or soft loans, with more generous terms than market loans. He added that financing should be based on the universal vulnerability index, which measures the exposure of populations to hazard.

Dr. Etienne said that PAHO would also work to assist Caribbean nations in getting financial assistance. She said that PAHO will do so through the Green Climate Fund, which was established to help developing nations respond to climate change.

Malgorzata Wasilewska meanwhile affirmed the European Union’s commitment to partnering with regional agencies, stating that the  European Union is privileged to continue our partnership with an esteemed group of regional agencies that builds on a diverse portfolio of programmes, to support advancement in the health and climate sectors.