Lively. Informative. Hard hitting. ADB Insight is a webcast that looks at the key development issues facing Asia & the Pacific.
Episode 14
Climate Change and Our Health: How the Climate Crisis Could Make us All Sicker
9 December 2022
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan
World Health Organization
Climate change is not just a problem for the health of the planet, it's a problem for the health of humanity. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that between 2030 and 2050 a quarter of a million people will die every year from its associated effects. That impact will be felt the most in places like Asia and the Pacific, where weak infrastructure will hamper the ability to prepare and respond.
This raises the stakes for policymakers in our region to take concrete steps against the climate crisis to protect public health.
WHO Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan joins ADB Insight to discuss how action on climate change can help avert the next pandemic, how digital technology can help ensure inclusive health protection, and the small but important steps individuals can take to protect their own health.
Nisha Pillai: Dr. Swaminathan, thanks so much for joining us.
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan: Thank you, Nisha. It's a real pleasure to be with you.
Nisha Pillai: Many countries in our region face a disproportionate impact from climate change. To what extent has climate change emerged as a critical health challenge for Asia and the Pacific?
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan: There's no doubt that we have to prepare and in the coming years that climate change is going to impact health. And in fact, we are framing the issues of climate change around mainly impacting people and their health because whether it's high temperatures, whether it's the spread of vector-borne diseases, because mosquitoes will now be able to live in areas where they could not exist before, whether it's, you know, floods and droughts that affect the food security of people and whether it's air pollution, which results from the same behaviors, the same fossil fuel-using behaviors that are also fueling climate change, 95% of people living across the world are breathing air which is not in line with the WHO standards. And this is particularly true for the developing countries, where often air quality standards are four or five, 10 times above what they should be. This affects not just lungs, but it affects the heart, it affects the nervous system. It affects people, women who are pregnant and impacts the babies who are born to them. And so, we are impacting, you know, future generations. We are having this huge effect on human capital.
Nisha Pillai: So, clearly a very pressing problem. But what can we realistically do to mitigate the impact?
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan: There are solutions. The solutions which will mitigate climate change will also help—something like air pollution, which is one of the biggest risk factors for health. The health system itself needs to go green. And so, we have this manifesto for a healthy and green recovery, where we have several actions that need to be taken. And there are many win-wins that I think the Asia-Pacific cities in particular need to be thinking about, like, for example, transport—urban transport systems, public transport. Reduce the private vehicles on the road. Make it easier for pedestrians and cyclists, for example. And why is it a win-win? It's good for health, keeping weight down, preventing obesity. It's good for the environment. Green spaces in cities have been shown to be extremely important for mental health. Eating a diverse diet, which has enough fruits, and vegetables, and protein, is good for the environment. Reduce the consumption of meat and increase the consumption of locally available fruits and vegetables. But at the same time, it also is very good for health. Diversifying the cereals that we eat, not doing monoculture, and of course protecting the forests, preventing deforestation and degradation, because there were increasingly the chances of animal-human conflict, as well as wild animals and domestic animals coming into contact. And this is where the spillover events are likely to occur, and the next virus that causes a pandemic is likely to arise.
Nisha Pillai: So, what specifically should governments in Asia and the Pacific be doing? What measures could they take?
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan: So, I think governments need to start thinking very broadly about what are the investments that will help the environment slow down climate change, reduce the amount of carbon we’re emitting, and at the same time helping the health of people and reducing some of these risk factors today, which are unhealthy diet, poor quality air you know that we are breathing, and these commercial other determinants with people eating high salt, high fat, high sugar food. So, there are lots of policy levers that can be put in place.
Nisha Pillai: You're putting a lot of emphasis, the onus really, on governments to effect change. But what role and responsibility do we as individuals have to tackle the crisis?
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan: There also needs to be a people's movement that recognizes this because a lot of it is also individual behavior change. You know, take public transport, or take a bicycle and walk if you can, rather than taking your car. Buy locally available produce, support your local farmers, save electricity in your homes as much as possible. And while proportionately speaking, the amount of emissions of people living in small countries or large countries in Asia and the Pacific is maybe less than some of the western high-income countries, I think everybody now has to do their bit, and moving to renewable energy sources, for example. If you put together all the health care facilities in the world, it's the fifth largest emitter of carbon. So, I think just greening health care facilities itself can help to you know, reduce.
And then of course, we need adaptation. We need to ensure that if there's a flood, if there's a drought, that the health system is resilient, it's able to cope, it's able to provide services. And again, we need to start thinking about how we are going to provide these services when we are hit with these climate emergencies.
Nisha Pillai: So, are you seeing positive actions, any hopeful signs coming from Asia and the Pacific?
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan: Yes. In fact, at the last COP, I think health was an important issue. And it had a lot of traction. And the WHO has launched an alliance of countries that want to be part of moving into renewable sources of energy and really addressing climate and health. So, this alliance today has about 54 countries. And I think, you know, sharing best practices, sharing knowledge, you know, making sure that the norms and standards are known and accepted in every country, and really building this movement for which health professionals need to be advocates for. But the action often needs to be taken by people outside the health sector, and this is why it's important to come together. There's also a need for research. There's need for documentation of not only the health impacts, but how do you actually mitigate those, and the health impacts of addressing some of these risk factors need to be documented and measured so that, again, for policymakers, it's important to understand the cost effectiveness of interventions. So, there's a lot of work that's needed there. But at the same time, we also have to lay the knowledge and tools to start acting. We don't need to wait.
Nisha Pillai: So, is this some of the work that you're involved in, in your role as scientist? For instance, is the WHO providing data which could drive effective policy decisions?
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan: That's right. And one of the new mechanisms we’re using is something called living guidelines, where we are constantly updating the recommendations that we've made without waiting for several years to go by. And this will be up all on a digital platform. And so, this enables people around the world to look at what the latest standards, guidelines, recommendations are from the WHO and we’re continuously looking at the data that's evolving and the huge amounts of data. So, we also need to use technologies like artificial intelligence—that scanning the literature, pulling the data, and triggering to us and telling us it's time for an update on your recommendations. So, this is a process we started during the pandemic, and this is now growing across all the technical departments of WHO.
“95% of people living across the world are breathing air which is not in line with the WHO standards. And this is particularly true for the developing countries, where often air quality standards are four or five, 10 times above what they should be.”
We also have a Department of Digital Health and Innovation. And again, we've seen digital technologies being used so much more during the pandemic. And so, again, learning, how can we harness telehealth, telemedicine, the use of apps on mobile phones? All of this can help us. It can be an enabler. But again, we need to remember that it is possible that the same people who are excluded from accessing health services may be excluded because they don't have access to digital technologies. They don't have access to the internet. Still, half the world does not have access to the internet, even though they may own a mobile phone. And so, I think as we invest in technologies, we have to, again, keep equity at the heart and think about that last mile and that, you know, vulnerable individuals, whether it's an elderly person who is disabled and cannot leave home or whether it's an indigenous person living in a remote community, how do we make sure the same quality health services reach them?
Nisha Pillai: So, lots of food for thought there, both for policymakers in the region and for all of us, as we face the health and climate challenges up ahead. Dr. Swaminathan, thank you so much for your time.
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan: Thank you very much, Nisha. It's been a pleasure speaking with you.
Nisha Pillai: Indeed, thank you to everyone who's joined us for this episode of ADB Insight. I'm Nisha Pillai. Until the new year, goodbye.
