OUR ENVIRONMENT IS DISPLACING MANY

Climate change, refugees and mental health: Why should we care?

Climate change is scientifically documented beyond reasonable doubt, is getting worse, and is a threat to our existence as humans as well as our planet Earth.

The rising sea level, drought or extreme weather events will dramatically increase in the coming decades, leading to uprooting of millions of people across the world, in search of alternative lands and sources of income. They are known as environmental refugees.

Psychological and mental illness will be the predominant health impact given the loss, displacement, discrimination, trauma and suffering of refugees, but it is not visible. This is going to supersede any other health impact and also continue to harm every aspect of the lives of those displaced populations for many years after settlement in their new homes.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region (more appropriately identified as Southwest Asia and part of the Eastern Mediterranean region) can be considered an epicenter of the impact of climate change. This predominantly Arabic speaking region of more than 400 million is one of the most water-poor regions in the world. The MENA region is expected to run out of ground water and have an increase in average temperature reaching ranges of 125-140 F, making it unlivable. Adding to that is the political instability fueling conflicts and violence across the region.

Refugees from MENA, and other impacted areas in Asia and Africa, will have no choice but to move in masses to other lands and by any means. Many will end up in transitional countries, Europe and eventually North America, and in San Diego as a hub for diverse communities of refugees, especially those from MENA.

Climate mental health impacts on the host populations and those refugees will overwhelm the health system of the U.S., based on existing services and approaches in mental health care that do not take into consideration this tsunami in the making.

U.S. health care systems and institutions need to look into alternative and novel mental health care approaches and resources in the community and using technology to fill in the huge gap that is growing as a result of climate change health impacts. The above skills and know-how should be shared with countries impacted by climate change, such as in the MENA region.

Dealing with climate change itself will require a revolution and paradigm shift in our individual behavior. We have to pursue a social norm change, in how we eat our food (shifting to sustainable and more plant-based food and not wasting it — an estimated 30 percent of the food produced is wasted); how we consume energy in our daily commute and homes; how we look for renewable energy sources, and how we focus on educating our families and friends on how every little effort matters.

This paradigm shift is going to take time, but we need to start now. The American Psychological Association, with over 120,000 members, is embarking on addressing this behavioral change by mobilizing resources and training and planning a strategy through a multidisciplinary climate change task force. I am honored to be one of the 12 members of this task force. With other colleagues, we have published a free e-book for communities, academics, faith leaders and policy makers to work toward changing social norms and supporting these changes with robust policies based on scientific evidence. Within a short period, our e-book reached more than 250,000 chapter downloads. It is addressing an urgent need.

Institutions and local and national governments must invest in supporting the above paradigm shift, through research, behavioral interventions, professional capacity building and resources to support evidence-based policies with grassroots community engagement that will pay off and be cost-effective in the long-term. This approach should be shared with other regions, such as MENA. This is something I aspire to for the sake of our global community.

In the global village of today, a problem in China can impact Europe, and carbon dioxide emissions from the U.S. contribute to uprooting of people in MENA countries who end up as refugees in San Diego. We are at a crossroads and we need to care about the well-being of other populations for the sake of existence of our future generations and our planet.

Al-Delaimy is a professor of public health at the University of California San Diego, chair of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology Eastern Mediterranean Chapter, and chair of the Board of Directors for the Society for Advancement of Science and Technology in the Arab World. He lives in Clairemont.