The effects of rising sea levels, increased temperatures, and extreme weather events are increasing the incidence and severity of disease, straining healthcare systems across the globe, and reducing access to healthcare for many communities.
Addressing the growing healthcare crisis requires multi-pronged strategies that must cross borders and operate effectively at local, state, national, and international levels.
To achieve global health objectives, we will have to engage stakeholders and build consensus in ways that ensure local needs are met as national and transnational policies are put in place.

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (or COP28) kicked off last weekend with its first-ever Health Day, where World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told delegates that environmental health, rising sea levels, and extreme weather patterns have a tremendous impact on global health. These can lead to sudden outbreaks of infectious diseases, strain healthcare services, and displace populations, making it harder for them to access medical treatment. According to the WHO, an additional 250,000 deaths per year will occur in the coming decades because of climate change.

The Connections between Climate Change and Global Health

Rising sea levels pose unique challenges to healthcare. Flooding can contaminate water supplies, leading to a higher risk of waterborne diseases. They can also disrupt the delivery of medical supplies and services, particularly in underserved communities.

Increased temperatures have been linked to a rise in heat-related illnesses and conditions such as cardiovascular disease, and warmer climates can expand the habitats of disease-carrying insects like mosquitoes, leading to an increase in diseases like malaria and dengue fever.

Even as the world continues to deal with the lingering effects of COVID, many health experts believe climate change will significantly increase the likelihood of similar pandemics in the not-too-distant future. A comprehensive meta-analysis study published in Nature revealed that climate change could greatly exacerbate more than half of known human pathogens.

Some of these pathogens, such as the omicron variant of the coronavirus that ravaged most of the world two years ago and mpox, which made headlines last year, are well known. Lesser-known pathogens that are responsible for cholera and malaria could also accelerate due to climate change. There is even the possibility that pathogens frozen in the permafrost may be released as the climate gets warmer—pathogens for which there are no known treatments.

Most alarming is that this is not some distant problem that future generations will have to deal with a hundred years from now. It is happening today. Just this year, Paraguay saw shockingly large outbreaks of chikungunya disease—a mosquito-borne viral illness. Paraguay, which never had a severe outbreak or fatality from this disease before this year, confirmed 120,000 cases and 46 deaths over the last 12 months, and the epidemic put tremendous strain on the country's health system.

This outbreak occurred when Paraguay saw the highest average temperatures in the nation’s history. A similar increase in temperature in southern Europe has also been linked to a 2017 chikungunya epidemic in Italy and the current increase in dengue virus infections in France.

Challenges Facing Healthcare Systems

Healthcare systems worldwide are beginning to shift their priorities to meet this threat but need more resources to address the concern adequately. Many hospitals and clinics are located in areas vulnerable to climate change and need to be equipped to withstand its impacts. Infrastructure adaptations are required to ensure that these facilities can continue providing essential services during extreme weather events.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has highlighted several priority action items for addressing this issue, including:

Identify locations and population groups at most significant risk for specific health threats, such as heat waves.
Communicate the health-related aspects of climate change, including risks and ways to reduce them, to the public, decision-makers, and healthcare providers.
Develop partnerships with other government agencies, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, universities, and international organizations to address U.S. and global health aspects of climate change more effectively.
Provide leadership to state and local governments, community leaders, healthcare professionals, nongovernmental organizations, faith-based communities, the private sector, and the public, domestically and internationally, regarding health protection from the effects of climate change.
Provide technical advice and support to state and local health departments, the private sector, and others in implementing national and global preparedness measures related to the health effects of climate change.
Promote workforce development by helping to ensure the training of a new generation of competent, experienced public health staff to respond to the health threats posed by climate change.

Solving a Global Health Crisis Starts at the Local Level

Few can argue with the CDC's recommendations as necessary steps to address this global health crisis. However, implementing these recommendations will prove trickier as each nation's priorities, politics, and resources vary greatly.

There will need to be unprecedented cooperation between government agencies, global business leaders, NGOs, health and science professional societies, and academics to forge a path forward with shared policies and responsibilities. Achieving that cooperation is likely to be stymied by the current political climate: shifting political movements, increasing multi-polar beliefs, and tug-of-war in the balance of power between local, national, and transnational governing bodies. Navigating these challenges is why DDC recently partnered with fellow Omnicom PR Group agency Portland Communications to launch Fortify Global, a first-of-its-kind, multinational risk and reputation management solution. With Fortify Global, we are affirming our conviction, based on decades of experience on a wide range of issues, that efforts to address global challenges succeed or fail based on their ability to engage with and respond to the needs of local communities.

Addressing the delegates at the Health Day Event, COP28 President Dr. Sultan Al Jaber stated, “The impacts of climate change are already at our door. They have become one of the greatest threats to human health in the 21st century. Governments have rightly recognized health as a crucial element of climate action…we must reduce global emissions and work together to strengthen our health systems.”

The willingness and ability of diverse stakeholders to “work together” to develop and implement global policies will be critical. More robust communication among decision-makers and more intentional engagement of diverse local stakeholders in each country will be needed not only to develop the right policies but also ensure they are implemented effectively.

The Impact of Climate Change on Global Health Will Take Unprecedented Cooperation