Public health needs overhaul to face climate-induced diseases

AN OVERWHELMING impact of climate-related factors on the incidence of diseases, as a study that the climate change and health promotion unit of the Health Services Division that was published in March shows, appears a cause for serious concern, especially when health-related climate funding in Bangladesh accounts for only 0.34 per cent of the total climate spending. The findings of the study based on the analysis of 2.8 million cases reported to public hospitals in 2017–2022 show that 143 of the 510 climate-sensitive diseases that have been identified account for 90.66 per cent of all reported cases. The most common among them are diarrhoea, accounting for 28.5 per cent of the cases, followed by pneumonia, which accounts for 18.9 per cent. Anxiety disorders, the study shows, account for 13.2 per cent and urinary tract infections for 7.9 per cent. Other frequently noticed diseases caused by climate-related factors are typhoid, accounting for 3.3 per cent of the cases, and cholera, accounting for 3 per cent. A range of climate-related factors such as drought, heat wave, erratic rainfall, saline intrusion, water and food contamination and the spread of disease vectors because of abnormal temperature causes the health impact.

The situation is further worrying as women are found more vulnerable to climate-sensitive diseases as opposed to men, accounting for 55.8 per cent of the cases whilst children under five remain the most vulnerable, accounting for 33.1 per cent of the cases. Geographically, the Rajshahi division has the highest incidence of climate-sensitive diseases accounting for 18.3 per cent, followed by Chattogram accounting for 17.6 per cent, Dhaka 16.1 per cent, and Khulna 14.7 per cent. Experts say that climate change impact affects both physical and mental health and they vary depending on the region, with salinity affecting reproductive health and causing hypertension in coastal areas whilst drought causing diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera and heatstroke in regions such as Rajshahi. The epidemiologist who led the study says that the situation cannot be compared with anything in the past because this is the first mapping of climate-sensitive diseases. Experts believe that climate change has led the incidence of new diseases and intensified the incidence of diseases that people have so far faced. The problem is not something that the government could resolve in the short run, but the government should reorganise the public health system to better cope with the problem, embarking on a journey towards a lasting resolution in the long run.

The government should, therefore, have the preparedness for early detection, prevention, control, timely interventions and increased funding to deal with climate-induced incidence of disease with an overhaul of the public health system.

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