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AITHM Seminar - Challenges with environmental health risks under climate change

22 September 2017, 10:00am - 22 September 2017, 11:00am

The environmental burden of disease in Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly high with environmental health exposures predominantly affecting vulnerable and environmentally marginalised communities. Many global health experts and personalities have warned that climate change will be the biggest threat for public health in the 21st century, and this will exacerbate the public health challenges in more vulnerable areas. This presentation will describe how new generation of projects and efforts are trying to reduce the environmental health exposure risks, increase the resilience of communities and foster the adaptation of health systems to climate change effects.

Guéladio Cisse

Time: Friday 22 September, 10:00am

Venue: Townsville - 48.202 videolinked to Cairns - D003.063

Challenges with environmental health risks under climate change

Contribution of environmental factors to the global burden of disease is substantial. A recent review found that close to 30% of DALYs for which a causative factor could be identified involved environmental hazards, either alone or in combination with other metabolic or behavioural factors. At global level, many global health experts and personalities have warned that climate change is becoming the biggest threat for public health in the 21st century. As the planet is warming up globally, climate change effects on health will be only going to increase both in developed and developing countries. The environmental burden of disease in Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly high with environmental exposures (e.g. to pollution of water) aggravated by poverty and political instability, predominantly affecting vulnerable and environmentally marginalised communities. Climate change will thus exacerbate the public health challenges in more vulnerable areas and we need to pursue our efforts in reducing environmental health exposure risks as well as increasing the resilience of communities and fostering the adaptation of health systems to climate change effects.

Biography: Prof. Dr. Guéladio Cissé is a sanitary engineer and environmental epidemiology researcher, research group leader on ecosystem services, climate and health and head of the Ecosystem Health Sciences Unit within the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) in Basel, Switzerland. His research activities are mainly dealing with challenges in the interlinked areas of water, sanitation, hygiene, environment, nutrition, climate and health.

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