14 DAY TRIAL // Professor John Anetor from the University of Ibadan recently recommended that health organizations worldwide start looking into the effects of climate change as soon as possible.
He claims that global warming has every chance of bringing us both new diseases and a food and water crisis, thus impacting on global health.
His study, “Impact of Climate Change on Maternal and Child Health,” was presented during the 47th annual conference of the medical laboratory scientists of Nigeria.
According to professor Anetor, climate change is presently the biggest threat to global health, as in some parts of the world it leads to poor access to water sources, food insecurity and extreme weather manifestations.
Vanguard reports that, from professor Anetor's point of view, such phenomena first and foremost affect women and children.
Given the fact that the perpetuation of the human race depends on both of them, it is no wonder that the professor is indeed worried.
To those living in developed countries this study might seem a bit far-fetched, but – as the same source informs us – it seems that in Nigeria there have been cases of eclampsia (seizures in a pregnant woman), hemorrhages and even miscarriages that can be linked to environmental pollution.
In professor Anetor's own words, “It has been observed that though vector-borne diseases [i.e. diseases in which one pathogenic microorganism is transmitted from an infected individual to another individual by an intermediary host] will spread beyond traditional boundaries, the indirect affects of climate change on water supply, food security, and extreme climate events will most probably have the biggest effect on global health.”
For the time being, John Anetor urges that local and world leaders to come up with appropriate public health systems, whose main focus should be the wellbeing of women and children.
Although, as we already mentioned, it is highly unlikely that developed countries will have to face such problems any time soon, if we are to push for international collaboration and implement sustainable development at a global scale, then we must find ways to also address these issues that undeveloped countries are presently facing.