The Director of WASH and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), Amref Health Africa, Martin Muchangi, has called on African nations to take action to combat the effects of climate change.
Muchangi made the call while responding to questions from newsmen on a sideline of the Africa Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC) 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda.
According to him, there is a need to prepare as African health systems are not yet equipped to cope with the challenges of climate crises.
In his words, “If you look at the African systems, they are underprepared to cope with the challenges of climate crises.
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“At the national and sub-national level, health systems are already facing significant challenges that make them particularly vulnerable to the increased health burden of climate crises, which also include threats by other communicable diseases, like what we saw with COVID-19 in a growing population.
“There is a major or significant funding gap for health infrastructure, commodities and other health systems issues too.
“However, there is variation in the level of preparedness across different countries, like when you look at South Africa and the Northern African countries, they have better systems.
“But, the general conclusion is that the health systems across the board need to prioritise preparedness around how to address climate crises and how to boost the delivery of climate-related services.’’
Story was adapted from NAN
