Bibliothèque

This activity report summarises the Workshop on Climate Variability and Change and their Health Effects in Pacific Island Countries, conducted in Apia, Samoa, from 25 to 28 July 2000. Proceedings, conclusions and recommendations are also included.

This activity report documents the outcomes of the Synthesis Workshop on Climate Variability, Climate Change and Health in Small-island States, Maldives, 1-4 December 2003. Specific goals of the Synthesis Workshop included inter alia: to inform health scientists, practitioners, and officials of the impacts of climate variability, and long-term climate change in the Indian Ocean, Pacific, Caribbean and other regions; to address vulnerability assessment and adaptation options for Small Island Countries; and to summarize conclusions and recommendations for common actions and activities for Small Island States and vulnerable islands in general.

This analytical report summarises the workshop Climate Variability and Change and their Health Effects on Small Island States. To understand better the potential health impacts of climate variability and change in these countries, this report synthesizes the information presented and identifies key recommendations for improving the health sector’s capacity to anticipate and prepare for climate variability and change.

This technical document presents a framework for developing disease Early Warning Systems (EWS). It reviews the degree to which individual infectious diseases are sensitive to climate variability in order to identify those diseases for which climate-informed predictions offer the greatest potential for disease control. Subsequent sections review the current state of development of EWS for specific diseases and underline some of the most important requirements for converting them into operational decision-support systems.

This technical document presents a comprehensive study of the global burden of disease attributable to Climate Change. In this chapter, the authors used existing or new models that describe observed relationships between climate variations, either over short time periods or between locations, and a series of health outcomes. These climate–health relationships were linked to alternative projections of climate change, related to unmitigated future emissions of greenhouse gases, and two alternative scenarios for greenhouse gas emissions.

This technical document provides guidance for governments, health agencies and environmental and meteorological institutions in both industrialized and developing countries on how to assess vulnerability and adaptation to climate variability. An integrated approach to assessment is encouraged because the impact of climate change is likely to transcend traditional sector and regional boundaries, with effects in one sector affecting the coping capacity of another sector or region.

This analytical report summarises the impacts of El Niño on health and the potential uses of such information. The first section provides background information on the nature of the ENSO phenomenon and the second section describes its impact on world climate in the form of weather-related disasters such as hurricanes and tropical storms, floods, drought and forest/bush fires. Section three summarises the current state of knowledge on the health impacts of El Niño. Section four addresses the potential for seasonal forecasting and section five describes some current international initiatives related to this issue.

This policy document is a comprehensive book (322 pages) that covers the context and process of global climate change, its actual or likely impacts on health, and how human societies and their governments should respond with particular focus on the health sector.

This policy document presents the contents of the 300-page First Climate and Health Task Group Report on Climate Change and Human Health outlining the state of scientific understanding of linkages. The range and seriousness of the potential health impacts of climate change mean that the risk assessment discussed in this volume constitute a very important scientific undertaking.

This policy document is a policy briefing report on the relation between climate change and health to the World Health Assembly Executive Board. Global warming will particularly threaten developing countries, with negative implications for the achievement of the health-related Millennium development Goals and for health equity. It is therefore essential to formulate a clear response in order to protect human health and ensure that it is placed at the centre of the climate debate.

This policy document presents an article from WHO staff on Global Climate Change and the various implications for international public health policy. It highlights that the most effective responses are likely to be strengthening of the key functions of environmental management, surveillance and response to safeguard health from natural disasters and changes in infectious disease patterns, and a more pro-active approach to ensure that development decisions serve the ultimate goal of improving human health. Climate change therefore demands that we intensify our efforts in preventive public health and place that crucial task at the core of sustainable development.

This technical document is a scientific document presenting methods for estimating the global burden of disease attributable to climate change. The series aims at supporting countries to generate reliable information for policy-making.

This analytical report summarises the findings from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’s (MA) global and sub-global assessments of how ecosystem changes do, or could, affect human health and well- being. This report represents a call to the health sector, not only to cure the diseases that result from environmental degradation, but also to ensure that the benefits that the natural environment provides to human health and well-being are preserved for future generations.

This manual is an attempt to sensitize growing adults about the importance of the linkages between climate change and human health. The students will learn the reasons behind the changes going on, how they affect each one of us in one way or another, the current and future effects and how we can respond to them. The complete resource material consists of two manuals: one for teachers and one for students. The student’s manual is for them to take home, study and share information about climate change and its impact on human health with their families.

This manual is an attempt to sensitize growing adults about the importance of the linkages between climate change and human health. The students will learn the reasons behind the changes going on, how they affect each one of us in one way or other, the current and future effects and how we can respond to them. The complete resource material consists of two manuals: one for teachers and one for students. The teachers’ manual is a training resource to support the spreading of information via interactive classroom activities.

This manual describes the recommended elements of heat-health action plans in detail and gives examples from existing heat-health action plans in Europe. Member States are invited to consult it in order to develop or improve heat-health action plans tailored to their individual system and context.

This training manual has been designed to accompany workshops for city health officials on the health impacts of climate change. In this training programme trainees will learn about many technical terms that are largely within the realm of ecology, the environmental sciences and in particular, meteorology and climatology. It is important that they apply this knowledge to a very practical concern: assessing the impact of climate change in their cities, and planning public health interventions to address this threat in support to their communities.

This activity report presents the first Annual Report on the CIF. It is an informative summary of the CIF’s status and a useful first step in beginning to document the early lessons on the design and start-up of the CIF. Its purpose is to make the CIF known to a wide range of stakeholders and to describe the design and early implementation process.

This video features the winners of the ‘Social Dimensions of Climate Change’ film contest, sponsored by the World Bank. The contest is intended to inspire people around the globe to express how climate change is affecting their lives.

This activity report is an output of the World Bank project Adaptation Strategies to the Environmental and Socioeconomic Impacts of El Niño for Rural Communities in Ecuador and Peru. The report highlights that the livelihoods of most communities depend on climate-sensitive sectors, especially agriculture. Understanding how these communities perceive risks and cope with climate hazards is important for identifying entry points for efforts to build resilience.