CLIMATE CHANGE, A THREAT TO HUMAN HEALTH.

As you all know climate is the average weather condition of an area, weather and climate play a significant role in human health. If there is any change in the average weather condition in which we are accustomed too human health is under threat. Climate change being a global issue is posing challenges to survival of mankind, impact of climate change are , and will continue to be more pronounced in developed countries like Tanzania. These impacts have affected the local community, threatening human health and sustainable development.

In Tanzania the increase of warmer temperature has triggered the increase of heat related illness and death. Not only that but also sever drought due to climate change has triggered food shortage leading to diseases like malnutrition. Malaria (climate related disease) has also been reported to occur in regions with an estimated altitude of about 2,500m above the sea level, in the past regions with a higher altitude where malaria free zone, however climate change has change all that. Climate change is undermining our nation?s efforts to achieve the millennium development goal 6 to combat malaria.

Human social and physical capacity is lost due to the adverse impacts of climate change, especially drought, floods, and diseases, among many other impacts are of great concern. Warmer temperature has contributed to concentration of unhealthy air and water pollutants, changes in climate have also contributed to change in precipitation patterns leading to spread of water bone diseases and malnutrition. Other effects on human health are contamination of water and food due to overflow of sewage treatment plants, increase of respiratory illness like asthma and a lot of reported cases on bacterial related disease like typhoid.

The government of Tanzania through its minister of state, vice president?s office-environment has formulated the national adaptation program to help cope with the impacts of climate change. It addresses the urgent and immediate need for adapting needs in various sectors in the country. However community public health is yet not sufficient and effective enough to handle the effects climate change. I believe this is the case in most third world counties, young people in Tanzania are fighting this impacts on their day to day activities, launching varies campaigns to keep our health out of sickness so that climate change won?t get the best out of us.