WHO braces for dire threats, climate change to global meltdown

He was speaking before 1,500 participants at the three day conference, " National Health Assembly, " which opened yesterday.

Dr. de Silva said the effects of climate change created by our forefathers, and aggravated by people today, will make the world unhealthy and unsafe for tomorrow's generation. Climate change will adversely and critically affect the basic pillars of health: healthy food, clean air and safe water.

The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change has found that it will impact all countries of Southeast Asia. The Himalayan glaciers are melting faster than in any other part of the world, leading to flash flooding, landslides and severe droughts. More than a billion people are vulnerable to its effects and the water crisis will be exaggerated, notably in drier areas.

Rising seas threaten the very existence of some countries such as the Maldives. Increasing heatwaves in Southeast Asia, will lead to premature death, increased respiratory and heart disease, most affecting children, the elderly and the chronically sick.

Changes in temperature will change the spread of malaria and dengue. The risk of water and food born disease such as diarrhoea and cholera will increase. Droughts will cause frequent crop failures and increasing malnutrition will in turn lead to higher morbidity, mortality and also tension between communities. Loss of property and livelihood will increase post traumatic stress.

Knowledge and concern on this global challenge among the population in the region are inadequate, said Dr. de Silva. WHO is taking the lead in preparing countries to face many of these conditions, but it will need intensive action at global level.

Another major issue which has sprung up quite suddenly is financial crisis. The potential implications for health, said Dr. de Silva, could be quite drastic.

Total health spending tends to fall in such times, and private out-of-pocket expenditure always declines; while the price of imported drugs and equipment increases. Delay in capital spending is a common short-term response among governments faced with budget cuts. A decline in the use of private facilities can put additional strain on the public sector which would also face the crunch. There is evidence that coverage of some key health interventions in developing countries has fallen already, resulting in deterioration of health.

" We will need to focus and analyse the actual and potential impact of the current economic crisis on health. The overall policy message is to argue for careful monitoring of vulnerable countries, and vulnerable populations in all countries," he said.

He added that an equally complex and closely related change in Southeast Asia is globalisation which is affecting even those in the remotest villages. An example is the trade in health products, especially pharmaceuticals, and the rise in commodity prices. Intellectual protection can limit options for countries to substitute low-cost generic versions of essential medicines for patented products.

Rising commodity prices can have serious consequences on public health, especially for the poor. The World Bank estimates that in three years food prices have almost doubled - wheat has risen by 130 per cent, rice by 80 per cent, soya by 90 per cent and global grain reserves have declined to dangerous levels, with less than two months now in hand.

In a bid to tackle these threats to health, Dr. de silva called on all the governments in the region to stand together as partners and address the crisis as a common issue to resolve satisfactorily. "I am confident that if we keep the time honoured principles of equity and social justice as the cornerstones of policy formulation we will not go wrong," he said.