Feature


By Frazer Potani, Lilongwe, Malawi

To everyone who knows 5-year-old Iness in her village in Dyeratu Area in Chikhwawa, southern Malawi, feels pity for the little girl.

She was born normal but since two years ago she has to perform almost every task with the help of her mother, Litiness.

Part of the little girl’s brain got damaged after contracting malaria after devastating floods had hit her village.


Chikhwawa is close to Shire River and usually experiences an increase of diseases such as cholera and malaria especially during rainy season.

The rains falling in the upper parts of Malawi under the influence of climate change increase volumes of water that are emptied into Lake Malawi by rivers across the country before the lake breathes it through Shire.

It is the same Lake Malawi’s breather that has to through floods, even force people in areas such as Nsanje, Chikhwawa in the Lower Shire suffer through higher cases of malaria and cholera as floods also create a fertile ground for the breeding of mosquitoes and cholera outbreaks due to people drinking unsafe water.

Therefore, Iness is even lucky having survived from the malaria attack since many children especially those under the age of five suffer from several episodes of the disease and die from it in Malawi.

The British charitable organization, Oxfam says although major culprits behind environmental degradation activities that are fueling climate change on the globe are rich developed countries those to suffer from its impact are the poor people of Chikhwawa and Nsanje in Lower Shire including little children like Iness in poor developing countries like Malawi.

The organization says climate change is not just a recipe for droughts and floods that are often causing food shortages, destroying homes and livelihoods but also helping the spread of diseases such as malaria and cholera.

“Poor people will be hit first and hardest by climate change. People living in poverty are more vulnerable for a number of reasons. For instance, they are often forced to live in temporary settlements, on land prone to flooding, storms and landslides. Making a living is already hard-so few will have savings to fall back on in an emergency. And poor diet, sanitation and health care also help spread infectious diseases,” says the agency.

John Chisi at Malawi College of Medicine in Blantyre alongside fellow researchers were hired by the Department of Environmental Affairs to conduct a study on the impacts of climate change in Malawi which had revealed that diseases like Malaria and cholera would worsen in Malawi if climate change is not controlled by all stakeholders.

“Malaria, malnutrition, cholera and other diarrhea diseases, all of which are climate change-related are the major killer diseases in the country. Changes in climatic patterns such as increases in temperature, floods and droughts are likely to affect the magnitude and distribution of these diseases, to a population, which is not only poor but also immune-compromised by HIV and AIDS,” said Chisi disclosing that the study they had conducted had revealed that Malawi’s Malaria’s prevalence rate alone was then high (97percent).

“But its transmission shows clear seasonal variation and geographical distribution. Global warming may likely increase geographical range of malaria, and may be responsible for malaria epidemics. Pregnant women and children are most vulnerable to malaria,” said Chisi.

He further disclosed that one study had even revealed that malaria accounted for 22 percent of hospital admissions, 26 percent of out-patients visits and 28 percent of hospital deaths in Malawi.

Chisi therefore, said in an effort to save lives from deaths linked to diseases such as malaria and cholera which are manifested by climate change, adaptation measures should include use of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs), repellents (including indigenous technologies such as use of blue gum leaves) and government programmes such as National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) and subsidized ITNs for pregnant women and children.


He also said diarrhea diseases are also among the major causes of illness and death among children under age five.

“Children are the most vulnerable group, suffering an average of five episodes per year. In Malawi diarrhea cases are highest during the rainy months of December to April. The worst case of cholera happened in 2002 where over 33, 000 people were affected and 1, 000 died from the outbreak,” said Chisi.

He further explained that in the face of water contamination due to floods as a result of climate change adaptation measures to be applied by households to save lives should include boiling of drinking water, filtration and chlorination and personal hygiene.


According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, climate change may already be causing more than 150, 000 deaths per year on the planet, a number that is expected to grow in the future.

The most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also cites overwhelming evidence that human actions are contributing to climate change, with a wide range of implications for human health.

Some of the impacts are direct, including mortality and morbidity resulting from more intense weather events, heat waves, and floods. Potentially larger impacts, though, may arise indirectly from mechanisms such as climate's effects on agricultural production and water resources--linked to major killers such as malnutrition and diarrhea--and common vector-borne diseases that are highly sensitive to changing temperatures and precipitation.

Furthermore, the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) estimates that climate adaptation costs for the health sector alone will be in the range of $4 billion to $12 billion per year by 2030.

Common sense would suggest that since both the UNFCCC and WHO recognize the intrinsic connection between climate and health, these two global organizations would be natural partners.

To help Malawian journalists understand how climate change will negatively affect human health in on the planet, at a meeting in Lilongwe which was organized by Journalists Against AIDS (Journaids) in Malawi, the Washington D.C based Population Action International (PAI) Vice President Roger Mark De Souza unveiled a study presentation on the matter.

In the presentation titled ‘Enhancing cooperation between the health and climate sectors’ by researchers Clive Mutunga, Karen Hardee and Kathleen Mogel Gaard published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists say although indicators are clear that climate change is already having negative impacts on health on the planet little is being done to prevent further threats to the human race on the planet.

“This must change sooner rather than later because strengthening health systems and improving public health are two significant steps that could increase resilience now and reduce human vulnerability to climate change in the future. These strategies undoubtedly will be shaped by local institutions, but local actions also are driven by institutions and processes at the national and global levels,” they say.

The researchers add that the WHO and the UNFCCC sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle climate-induced challenges.

“Under it, governments gather and share information on greenhouse gas emissions, national policies, and best practices and commit to coordinated national strategies for addressing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to expected impacts, including the provision of financial and technological support to developing countries,” they explained.

The four researchers claim that a new agreement was expected to be advanced at the 15 th Conference of the Parties (COP 15 ) that was held in Copenhagen few years ago.

They say as the leading health agency within the United Nations (UN) system, the WHO represents the health community at the international level and provides the link to operational health programmes in the field.

When possible, the WHO also cooperates with the UNFCCC on aspects of climate change and lends its expertise to specific UNFCCC initiatives; two examples include the Subsidiary Body of Scientific and Technological Advice and the Nairobi Work Programme, a network of stakeholders who share information and build adaptation capacity.

“WHO also works with other specialized agencies and programmes, such as the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), on capacity building and project implementation,” the researchers say.

They disclosed that to strengthen its role as the lead international agency for health and climate change, the WHO few years ago launched a global campaign to raise awareness of the effects of climate change on health and to ensure that health is part of the agenda in UNFCCC negotiations leading to the new international agreement.

The organization also prepared a global work plan to assess and address the implications of climate change for health and health systems following a resolution titled "Climate Change and Health," adopted in May 2008 by the World Health Assembly.

This resolution requests that the WHO Director General consult with member states in the preparation of a "work plan for scaling up WHO's technical support to member states for addressing the implications of climate change for health and health systems, including practical tools and methodologies and mechanisms for facilitating exchange of information and best practices."

The work plan, which was endorsed by the WHO executive board in January 2009, has far-reaching climate and health objectives that include advocacy and raising awareness; engagement in partnerships with other UN organizations and sectors at the national, regional, and international levels; promotion and support for the generation of scientific evidence; and strengthening health systems to cope with the health threats posed by climate change.

According to Clive Mutunga, Karen Hardee and Kathleen Mogel Gaard implementation of the work plan will be carried out through the WHO network with $114.4 million in funding already budgeted under the organization's 2008–2013 Medium-Term Strategic Plan.

“Since this funding will not go very far in achieving the plan's goals, more resources will need to be mobilized in the future,” they say adding that as of May, 2009, a total of 41 of the 49 Least Developed Countries had prepared and submitted their National Adaptation Plan of Actions (NAPAs) to the UNFCCC.

“All 41 countries identify health, or the health sector, among the most vulnerable sectors to climate change and one in need of adaptation action. For example, Malawi's NAPA states that health "is directly affected by climate change and is especially linked to infant malnutrition and chronic ailments associated with malaria, cholera, and diarrhea as a result of droughts and floods," Mutunga, Hardee and Mogel Gaard reveal in their study.

One of few Malawian prominent female environmentalists, Etta M’mangisa, warned all stakeholders in Malawi and the world over that if climate change would not be controlled, its negative impacts including on human health could wipe the global human race by 2050.

“As a global community therefore, we have all to take action against climate change and the time is now, or else face its consequences,” she said.

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