Thato Chwaane
8 April 2008
Gaborone — Speaking at a joint workshop of the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation, David Lesolle of the Department of Meteorological Services said that minimum temperatures in Botswana are increasing.
He says although this winter may be very cold due to the recent heavy rains, in general, the winters have become warmer.
He says due to global warming, there will be a lot of changes such as a houseflies staying up until late or tsetse flies breeding more. Speaking at World Health Day commemorations yesterday, under the theme 'protecting health from climate change,' he said that there has been an increase in malaria, diarrhoea and hepatitis cases. There is also an increase in storms and more cyclones. He gave the example of the cyclones in the Mozambican channel.
Lesolle said there is a need to review the impact of climate change on the health sector of Botswana. He urged Batswana to take action now.
Lesolle said that it used to be believed that climate change was a meteorological issue, however it is much bigger.
Climate change is a significant longterm change in the measurement of climate such as temperature, rainfall or wind.
The acting World Health Organisation (WHO) representative, Dr Owen Kaluwa says that climate change threatens to reverse progress in fighting diseases of poverty and it widens the gaps in health outcomes between the richest and the poorest. Kaluwa said that there is a need for governments to put human health and well being at the heart of climate change policy and renew efforts to protect health through achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
"We need ministries of health to strengthen public health policy and practice to meet the challenges of climate change and protect their populations," he said. He said that it is important for individuals to make personal choices that will enhance health and reduce climate change.
Kaluwa said that if the current warming trends are uncontrolled, humanity will face more injury, disease and death related to natural disasters and heat waves. He said they will face higher rates of food-borne, water-borne and vector-borne illnesses and more premature deaths and disease related to air pollution.
The Ministry of Health's Tuelo Mphele said her ministry has strategies to address issues relating to climate change such as disease surveillance on malaria trends and work with waste management to see what issues can be addressed. She said that people still burn waste, which causes emissions that affect the environment.
The meeting which was a collaboration between the Ministry of Health and WHO was meant for stakeholders.
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