Although it did little to cause the climate crisis, the Africa suffers disproportionately from its impacts. That’s what 16 editors of the main biomedical journals on the continent claim, who warn that the damage to African countries should be of paramount concern for all nations.
More than 250 scientific journals around the world have come together to simultaneously publish an editorial calling on world leaders to deliver climate justice for Africa ahead of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27) to be held in Cairo, Egypt in November. .
For the first time, a significant number of journals are united around the same alert, reflecting the seriousness of the climate change emergency for the world.
The authors urge rich nations to step up support for Africa and vulnerable countries to address the past, present and future impacts of climate change. The researchers say the climate crisis has impacted the environmental and social determinants of health across Africa, leading to devastating health effects.
In West and Central Africa, for example, severe flooding has resulted in mortality and forced migration due to the loss of shelter, cultivated land and livestock, while extreme weather damages water and food supplies, increasing food insecurity and malnutrition, which causes 1.7 million deaths annually in Africa.
Changes in vector ecology caused by flooding and damage to environmental hygiene have also led to an increase in malaria, dengue, Ebola and other infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
The authors also point out the economic impacts of the problem. In all, the climate crisis is estimated to have destroyed a fifth of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the countries most vulnerable to climate shocks.
Scientists argue that the damage to Africa should be of paramount concern to all nations because, in an interconnected world, leaving countries at the mercy of environmental shocks creates instability that has serious consequences for all countries.
They argue that reaching the climate finance target of $100 billion a year is now “globally critical if we are to avoid the systemic risks of leaving societies in crisis”, and say that additional resources for loss and damage must now also be introduced.
They acknowledge that some progress has already been made, including early warning systems and infrastructure to defend against extreme events, but stress that frontline nations are not compensated for the impacts of a crisis they did not cause.
“Not only is this unfair, but it also drives the spiral of global destabilization, as nations invest money to respond to disasters but can no longer afford greater resilience or reduce the basic problem through emissions reductions,” he says. editorial excerpt.
global problem
The impacts of the climate crisis include the intensification of phenomena such as drought and rainfall. While periods of drought can be prolonged, making agriculture difficult, for example, an increase in the frequency of storms with risks of flooding can also be observed.
“The climate crisis is a product of global inaction and takes a heavy toll not just on disproportionately impacted African countries, but on the entire world,” the researchers write. “Africa is united with other frontline regions in urging rich nations to finally step up, if for no other reason than that crises in Africa will sooner or later spread and engulf all corners of the globe, when will it be too late to respond effectively,” they continue.
“If so far they have not been able to be persuaded by moral arguments, then we hope that their self-interest will prevail now,” they conclude.
Researcher Lukoye Atwoli, Professor and Dean of Medical College East Africa and Associate Director of the Brain and Mind Institute said: “It is time for the global community to recognize that the climate crisis, while disproportionately affecting the continent, is a global crisis. Action must start now, and start where it hurts the most, in Africa. Failure to act will make the crisis a problem for everyone very soon.”
The editorial, authored by 16 editors of Africa’s leading biomedical journals, including African Health Sciences, African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine and East African Medical Journal, was simultaneously published in 50 African journals and other international medical journals such as The BMJ. , The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, National Medical Journal of India and Medical Journal of Australia.
The content was coordinated by the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change (UKHACC), a coalition of leading UK health bodies that advocates on behalf of healthcare professionals for responses to climate change that simultaneously protect and promote public health.
“In Africa, we are already seeing the devastating effects of climate change on people’s health and the need to strengthen community-oriented primary health care is now more than ever,” said Bob Mash, editor of the African Journal of Primary Health. Care and Family Medicine and President of the South African Academy of Family Physicians.
Source: CNN Brasil
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