Climate change cell
at Health Ministry
soon
The
Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare
of Bangladesh will
“open a new climate
change cell to look
into the
climate-induced
disease burden in
the country”, the
Health Minister of
Bangladesh, Prof. Dr
AFM Ruhal Haque
announced on the 3rd
of December 2009. "I
urge the Health
Secretary and others
concerned to come up
with a proposal to
open a climate
change cell at the
Health Ministry
within shortest
possible time," Dr
Haque said, at a
National Workshop on
Climate Change and
Health Impacts in
Bangladesh at a city
hotel. The Health
Ministry of the
Government and the
World Health
Organization jointly
organized the
workshop, designed
to identify the
health challenges in
Bangladesh arising
out of climate
change, a threat
which was likely to
displace 30 million
people from coastal
regions with a sea
level rise of one
meter.
Dr Haque felt that
it was time to form
a bigger group
comprised of members
from stakeholders
to find out climate
change-related
health problems and
act on those
accordingly. He said
the climate change
has already become a
reality, and now is
the time to plan
concrete actions. He
felt that
Bangladesh, along
with many other
developing
countries, has not
been a major
contributor to the
greenhouse gas
emissions compared
to the
industrialised
countries. Currently
our carbon dioxide
emissions per capita
are 50 times less
than those of the
USA, and 20 times
less than that of
the European
Union’s.
Assuring full WHO
support to the
Government of
Bangladesh in its
response to climate
change, Dr
Duangvadee
Sungkhobol, WHO
Country
Representative to
Bangladesh said, “in
spite of the
extraordinary
challenge posed by
climate change it
was also clear that
the implementation
of certain
mitigation and
adaptation policies
would lead to
substantial health
benefits, and thus
it would offset
their cost
partially. She
called upon all to
develop an action
plan to protect
health from climate
change, said Dr
Duangvadee. Adding
that “we would like
to support an
assessment of health
vulnerability to
climate change in
order to identify
vulnerable
populations, and
frame appropriate
interventions to
reduce the burden of
disease”, she voiced
her full support for
capacity building
among health sector
professionals.
"Climate Change is
the biggest global
health threat of the
21st century,"
dubbed Dr Atiq
Rahman, executive
director of
Bangladesh Centre
for Advanced Studies
(BCAS). He opined
that vector- borne
diseases would
expand their reach
and the death toll
would increase
because of the
heat-wave. Dr Rahman,
a leading
environment NGO
personality, said
temperature rise was
likely to increase
transmission and
prevalence of
malaria by producing
new vector
generations, and by
shortening the
incubation period of
parasites in
mosquitoes.
After the formal
inauguration event,
the day-long
workshop continued
with two other
technical sessions.