The Anatomy of A Silent Crisis The Anatomy of A Silent Crisis

30 Forum 2009: Climate Change – The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis
Climate change is responsible for several hundred million additional people suffering from health
problems and several hundred thousand lives lost
Every year the health of 235 million people is likely to be seriously affected by gradual
environmental degradation due to climate change. This assumes that climate change affects
malnutrition, diarrhoea and malaria incidences. 34Furthermore, within the next year over 300,000
people are expected to die from health problems directly attributable to climate change. 34
Malnutrition is the biggest burden in terms of deaths. Climate change is projected to cause over
150,000 deaths annually and almost 45 million people are estimated to be malnourished because
of climate change, especially due to reduced food supply and decreased income from agriculture,
livestock and fisheries. Climate change-related diarrhoea incidences are projected to amount to over
180 million cases annually, resulting in almost 95,000 fatalities, particularly due to sanitation issues
linked to water quality and quantity. Climate change-triggered malaria outbreaks are estimated to
affect over 10 million people and kill approximately 55,000. 34
By 2030, climate change is expected to increase the number of people suffering by more than one
third and lives lost by more than one half
In 2030, approximately 310 million people are expected to suffer from the health consequences
related to more pronounced gradual environmental degradation and temperature increase due to
climate change. This, in turn, is projected to increase disease levels to a point where half a million
people could die from climate related causes. 94 In the future, weather-related disasters are likely
to have an even more profound impact on health quality when they cause floods, heat waves and
droughts. Although numerous interventions are underway to combat hunger, improve sanitation
and reduce diseases like malaria; the percentage of cases attributable to climate change rises in the
future and population growth may counteract progress towards disease reduction.
Developing countries — especially their children, women and elderly — are most severely affected
Over 90 percent of malaria and diarrhoea deaths are borne by children aged 5 years or younger,
mostly in developing countries. 21 Other severely affected population groups include women, the elderly
and people living in small island developing states and other coastal regions, mega-cities or mountainous
areas. 36,95 These groups are the most affected due to social factors like gender discrimination, which can
restrict women’s access to health care, and age-based susceptibility as children and elderly often have
weaker immune systems. Additionally, people living in certain geographic areas are more affected due
factors such as high exposure to storms along coastlines, inadequate urban planning etc. Almost half the
health burden occurs in the population dense Southeast Asia region with high child and adult mortality,
followed by losses in Africa (23 percent) and the Eastern Mediterranean (14 percent). 91 Africa is also hit