Thursday, July 7, 2011

Barbados to launch project on climate change and human health

Caribbean Press Releases: Barbados is the only country in the Western Hemisphere chosen to participate in a global project aimed at increasing the capacity of seven countries "to respond to climate-sensitive health risks".

Known as the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Project on Piloting Climate Change Adaptation to Protect Human Health, it is slated to kick off next Wednesday, July 13, with a launch and workshop jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Health, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organisation/Pan American Health Organisation (WHO/PAHO).

...The project recognises that climate change, including climate variability, has multiple influences on human health. Both direct and indirect impacts can be expected including alterations in the geographic range and intensity of transmission of vectors, such as ticks and mosquitoes. It can also result in rodent borne diseases and food- and waterborne diseases, changes in the prevalence of diseases associated with air pollutants and aeroallergens.

Changes in climate can alter or disrupt natural systems, making it possible for disease to spread or emerge in areas where they have been limited or not existed for years. And, it can also have the effect of making diseases disappear through making areas less hospitable to the vector or the pathogen...

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