Climate Change and Human Health in Vulnerable Regions World-Wide

Abstract

NCEA's Global Change Research Program has partnered with the World Health Organization to host workshops on the impacts of climate change on human health across vulnerable regions worldwide, including the Central Asian Republics (Uzebekistan), China, the middle east (Jordan), the central mountain regions of norther India, central American countries (Costa Rica), and among the small island states (including a series of workshops in American Samoa, the Barbados and the Maldives). Small island states and other vulnerable regions are especially threatened by climate variability, including extreme weather and climate events (e.g. tropical cyclones, floods, and droughts). Many of these regions share characteristics that increase their vulnerability, incluidng thier isolation, limited potable water supplies and other natural resources, fragile economies, dense populations, poorly developed infrastructure and limited financial resources and human capital. These workshops seek to identify key recommendations for improving the capacity of the regions' health sector to anticipate and prepare for climate variability and change.