Five questions for African countries that want to build climate-resilient health systems

These events have enormous health and social effects, among them death, injuries, malnutrition and diseases (infectious and non-communicable).

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The ConversationThe Conversation
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https://theconversation.com/five-questions-for-african-countries-that-want-to-build-climate-resilient-health-systems-206783https://theconversation.com/five-questions-for-african-countries-that-want-to-build-climate-resilient-health-systems-206783
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日曜日, 6月 25, 2023
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Workforce, Review, Lighting, Technology, Learning, Department, Climate, Flood, Asthma, Health informatics, Extreme weather, Emergency, Education, HIV, Face, Wellness, Malnutrition, Leadership, Health, TB, Policy, Stroke, Dehydration, Heat exhaustion, Lung cancer, Climate change, Infection, Research, Heat stroke, Carbon, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Hospital, Moyamoya disease, Association, Cholera, Water, Weather, Heat, World, Death, Air pollution, Notifiable disease, Injury, Disease, Malaria, Pharmaceutical industry, Renewable energy, Nursing, Health care, Risk management, Bottled water
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NIGERIA, KENYA, MADAGASCAR, MOZAMBIQUE, MALAWI, SOUTH AFRICA, AFRICA, ZIMBABWE
概要
Key Points: 
  • These events have enormous health and social effects, among them death, injuries, malnutrition and diseases (infectious and non-communicable).
  • How, then, can African countries build more resilient primary healthcare systems as the effects of climate change worsen?
  • The review mapped the available evidence onto the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) health system building blocks: leadership and governance; the health workforce; the health information system; infrastructure and technology; service delivery; and health financing.
  • We identified five key questions that health systems must answer to build more resilient primary healthcare.

1. What training do medical professionals need?

    • Health professionals in most African countries receive barely any training related to the health and social effects of dramatic changes in weather patterns.
    • The World Organisation of Family Doctors has also launched a global online training programme on planetary health.
    • But training new health professionals isn’t enough.

2. What are the community’s key vulnerabilities?

    • This kind of primary care has become policy in some health systems, for instance in South Africa’s Western Cape province.
    • The community-orientated approach has usually focused on addressing the social determinants of ill health such as early childhood development or education.
    • Now, environmental determinants of health and key climate-related vulnerabilities must also be considered.

3. How can the health system track environmental changes?

    • Health information systems traditionally collect data on health services and a population’s health needs.
    • Primary health care facilities and services need to identify the particular climatic events that they are likely to face.
    • Our scoping review did not find any African examples of health information systems tracking the changes or providing early warning of climate-related events.

4. How can health systems build climate resilience?

    • For example, a hybrid energy system may improve resilience and mitigate the health system’s carbon footprint.
    • Health systems need to consider how they can design facilities and systems to withstand environmental challenges, respond to emergencies and continue offering essential services.

5. What are the next steps?

    • The scoping review reveals a widespread absence of evidence on how to address the issue of climate change in African primary healthcare.
    • He is the President of the SA Academy of Family Physicians and coordinates the Primary Care and Family Medicine (PRIMAFAMED) network in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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