Better health systems a plus for future disaster response
STRENGTHENED HEALTH systems as a gain from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis today is also a plus for disaster risk management and climate-change resilience building tomorrow.
So says Eleanor Jones, a respected development professional and businesswoman from the environmental sector.
She suggested that a strengthened health system – from the increase in beds to the physical upgrade and equipping of health facilities, as well as increased cooperation between health personnel from the private and public health sectors – augurs well for future disaster response.
“I think that (health system strengthening) is a very good concept and what we need to explore,” she said.
In 2014, the World Health Organization projected that some 250,000 more deaths per year globally would occur due to climate change impacts on nutrition and the increase in malarial, diarrhoeal and heat-stress cases.
“Climate change also affects health service delivery and healthcare access in small island developing states, as most populations and healthcare facilities in these islands are near coastal areas prone to tropical cyclones, floods, storms, and disturbances in water supplies,” noted the 2019 Caribbean Action Plan on Health and Climate Change.
“Damage to infrastructure and essential supplies/amenities affect the capacity of health systems to provide services when they are most needed in emergency situations,” the document added.
HEALTH OUTCOMES
It is against this background that Jones has said that strengthened health systems to improve health outcomes in a time of COVID-19, which has already infected more than two million people and claimed the lives of more than 160,000 globally, is a good thing for the future. This is given looming climate-change realities and the implications for public health.
A reminder of the relationship between environmental health and human health is another likely gain.
“It is clear that emissions have declined (with the scale back of business operations in some parts of the world). So you are seeing reduced pollution which will have an impact on global warming though it is a very short period of time to really come to a fulsome conclusion,” Jones said.
“Environmental health is such an important issue. We see that vulnerability (to COVID-19) is due in part to whether you have a pre-existing condition, such as a respiratory illness to which poor air quality can contribute,” she added.
An April 20 BBC News article cited two recent studies, one of them showing a connection between high levels of air pollution and COVID-19 deaths in northern Italy.
The other, which is out of the United States, would seem to support the view that the “severity of the COVID-19 infection may be augmented by particulate matter air pollution”.
“Non-communicable diseases (such diabetes and hypertension) also make you vulnerable to this kind of disease. These diseases are not really about air quality, but your immune system is compromised by poor environmental conditions and if your immune system is compromised, you will be vulnerable to some of these things,” Jones said.