Climate Change and Human Health: Solutions and Preventions

Of all the effects caused by climate change, human health is arguably one of the most worrying. Direct consequences of this phenomenon include famine due to inadequate food production, widened spread of disease and increased mortality led by natural hazards. Of course, these are not all the problems; further issues such as declining newborn health and air pollution are equally troublesome. Therefore, the negative impact of climate change on human health should not be underestimated. If effective and comprehensive preventive measures are not taken, the future of human beings is disquieting. It is our job to protect the Earth from being exhausted, and to protect ourselves. 

Part I: What CDC Has Contributed

Realizing human health is being damaged, most governments and relevant departments have taken certain actions. This is a good sign, showing that climate has caught attention from the public, but at the same time, it means that the impacts are serious enough to require putting more effort. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has played a crucial role in research and formulating strategies to reduce climate change impacts. 

Begun in 2006, CDC has been focusing on implementing three major movements: building an evidence base, expanding capacity, and telling the story (Schramm 2020). Effectively predicting the causes of climate change allows countries or regions to prepare for the negative influences ahead of time. A comprehensive evidence base supported by massive reliable study and research, hence, is essential for solving climate change problems. Specifically, CDC launched the Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) framework, a five-step process (shown in figure 1) that uses a big amount of data and predictions to help health organizations plan to prevent the health effects climate change brings. The BRACE framework is already working reasonably well in many areas, and its importance in controlling climate change is undoubted.

However, the demand for capital after constructing advanced research systems increases dramatically, which is not affordable by many countries and cities. Therefore, the second action CDC took is to establish funding and technical support provisions. In the United States, CDC has contributed to this goal by funding eighteen states and two cities through the Climate-Ready States and Cities Initiative (CRSCI). According to the research authored by Paul J. Schramm, “ten jurisdictions were originally funded beginning in 2010, and additional jurisdictions have been funded over time”. This has provided substantial help to more regions and made it easier to address the impact of climate change on human health.

Except for assisting governments and health departments, CDC has also worked to communicate and remind people timely to minimize false or ineffective prevention strategies. Nevertheless, since BRACE is still in its experimental and preliminary stages, there is a lot to improve. For example, in its implementation, BRACE needs to elicit more stakeholder perspectives. As John emphasized in his article that “while stakeholder engagement is critical in each step, BRACE is an adaptive management framework and therefore calls for periodic revisions to the stakeholder network in order to better align with the specific goals of each step”. Climate change cannot be controlled completely and quickly. The work that has been done may not be able to keep up with the pace at which it is damaging human health. In other words, more sophisticated and extensive solutions need to be established as soon as possible.

Part II: Multi-departmental and multi-disciplinary cooperation

Because the impacts of climate change are so widespread, and their consequences are destructive, a single department will not be able to solve all the problems. This is a very worrying reality, and once again proves how challenging it is to control climate change. Multi-departmental collaboration requires cooperation between local government, health, and other organizations, while multi-disciplinary collaboration needs joint research on climate change between different academic fields. Solving climate change is a long-term goal, and more progress can be made only when mankind realizes the importance of working together.

The article Climate Change and Health: Transcending Silos to Find Solutions pointed out the value of partnership with academic and research institutions. These institutions are able to provide professional and constructive data and forecasts, which is one of the most important steps in the development of prevention strategies. For example, as the author stated, “linking information resources, such as clinical decision support systems, local disease reporting, and ecological trend data, may help empower expanded stakeholder participation by making population health outcomes of environmental changes more visible”. Similar works, such as cooperation with hospitals, educational institutions, and engineering schools, will go a long way in preventing the negative consequences of climate change. 

Governments also need to work closely with health, environmental, agriculture, and transport departments to address climate change. Close working relationships with national and local public health and weather services, as well as the possibility of physical sentinel monitoring for agriculture or wildlife, can help improve forecasts and enable risk reduction strategies. According to Catherine Machalaba’s report, the U.S. Department of Defense and its partners have developed climate anomaly prediction methods that provide forecasts of weather-related diseases up to eight months in advance, including areas with a high risk of specific infectious and non-communicable diseases such as respiratory diseases expected from forest fires during drought events. This information contributes greatly to the development of public health strategies and provides adequate advice to health service providers for early detection or mitigation of disease risks. 

Public health and policy scientists stress that climate change is expected to affect public health directly through physical effects, such as extreme heat waves and cold snaps, and indirectly through its effects on chronic and infectious diseases. In addition, extreme weather conditions increase the incidence of certain diseases, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and climate change affects the occurrence and behavior of infectious and vector-borne diseases (Hochman 2020). This fact further indicates the importance of multi-departmental and multi-disciplinary cooperation. Climate change brings great harm to human health, among which the spread of diseases is the most worrying. The government and various departments have recognized the problem and started to do something about it, which is certainly a good start. However, the existing solutions and implementation scope are far from enough, and cooperation between multiple departments will greatly improve efficiency.

Part III: Construct Exclusive Prevention Strategies

An important factor to consider when dealing with climate change is that every region's environment and conditions are different. Not to mention differences between countries, every city is sometimes affected differently by climate change depending on their geographical location. For example, in the United States, drought conditions appear to be worsening in the southwest, which is significantly more severe than in the northeast. Under such conditions, it is essential to formulate exclusive prevention tactics based on each city and country. 

Works Cited

“Evidence on Public Health Interventions to Prevent the Negative Health Effects of Climate Change.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/105980Links to an external site..

Hess, Jeremy, et al. “Projecting Climate-Related Disease Burden.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/docs/ProjectingClimateRelatedDiseaseBurden_508.pdf. 

Hochman, Assaf, et al. “Interdisciplinary Regional Collaboration for Public Health Adaptation to Climate Change in the Eastern Mediterranean.” AMETSOC, American Meteorological Society, 1 Oct. 2020, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0065.1 

“How Well Does Climate Change and Human Health Research Match the Demands of Policymakers? A Scoping Review.” National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1 Aug. 2012, https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1104093

Machalaba, Catherine, et al. “Climate Change and Health: Transcending Silos to Find Solutions.” Annals of Global Health, No Longer Published by Elsevier, 27 Nov. 2015, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aogh.2015.08.002Links to an external site.

Marinucci, Gino D., et al. “Building Resilience against Climate Effects-a Novel Framework to Facilitate Climate Readiness in Public Health Agencies.” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 20 June 2014, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110606433.  

Schramm, P.J., Ahmed, M., Siegel, H. et al. Climate Change and Health: Local Solutions to Local Challenges. Curr Envir Health Rpt 7, 363–370 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-020-00294-1Links to an external site.

Schramm, Paul J., et al. “Climate Models and the Use of Climate Projections: A Brief Overview for Health Departments” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/pubs/climate_models_and_use_of_climate_projections.pdfLinks to an external site..

Usgcrp. The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment, 4 Apr. 2016, https://health2016.globalchange.gov/.