ABSTRACT
Healthcare providers and healthcare facilities will be on the frontline in dealing with the impacts of climate change. The new and emerging health issues resulting from climate change clearly necessitate a significant and concrete response from the health sector. Health systems must be made more robust to meet the increasing demands, and more resilient in order to survive the impacts of climate change. Conversely, health systems cause stress on the environment: their growing energy needs, water requirements to maintain hygienic conditions, waste disposal and chemical use all add to the greenhouse gases which are a major cause of climate change. Climate change will also impact the existing health systems in various ways – infrastructure damage due to extreme flooding and precipitation, the rising burden of diseases and disrupted supply chains leading to shortages of drugs and other medical commodities. In poorer countries with already-weak human resources structures and inadequate health financing, climate change could well stretch the health system to breaking point unless it becomes climate-resilient. This chapter looks at the inter-connections between climate change and global and national health systems, and discusses the need for sustainable health systems with a smaller carbon footprint.
