Climate change and health issues: an Afrocentric perspective

Climate change remains a complex public health emergency that has generated global concern especially in Africa where about 17% (1.4 billion people) of the world population is impacted. As global warming continues to raise the average global temperatures by about one degree Celsius (1°C), most regions in Africa are projected to experience higher temperatures with some estimates suggesting 2°C increase in temperatures across Africa. This has led to frequent heavy precipitation and flooding. Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change and many regions of Africa are projected to experience an increase in the probability of compound events with higher global warming. Several detrimental impacts of climate change on the health and well-being of a large population in Africa have been projected ranging from serious impacts on physical and mental health to detrimental effects on the African economy. This chapter presents an Afrocentric situational analysis using selected themes including the trend in climate change on the continent, a description of climate-related events in Africa, the impact of climate change on livelihoods, climate change impacts on the health of vulnerable populations, climate change-related complex emergencies, and mental health aspects of climate change. A concluding subsection provides recommendations and an action plan to foster preparedness and to mitigate the impacts of climate change on health in the continent.