Health: The Common Issue that Hopes Priority
In our field visit to Kundar Para village of Gaibandha District, Joy Guillemot from World Health Organization asked local women to share impacts of floods in their health and that of their children. There were around 25 women in the interaction. While answering the question, all women simultaneously started replying, with which the observers including me surprised to see and hear their eternal feelings! They shared about the loss of children’s’ lives, outbreak of diseases such as diarrhea, skin and eye related diseases, increased temper of the women because of the burden, pressure and the mental tension due to floods and river bank erosion and beating to their kids. As Men are mostly mobile and are out of their homes, it was women who suffered most from such unprecedented events, who have to look after elderly persons in their family, children, livestock and their property. In the future projection and uncertainty, it will be women who will suffer more. Hence, health is a serious issue when we deal with the issue of climate change. Certainly the healthy people in the healthy ecosystems have high adaptive capacity and ultimately are resilient.
The issues of scaling up of community based adaptation in Health were discussed in the 20th parallel session of the 5th International Conference on Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change in Dhaka. The session was a good learning opportunity for me though it was attended by around 45 participants including the session chair and presenters. The cases and experiences from Bhutan, Vietnam, Jordan and Bangladesh reflected the importance of integrating health sector adaptation with an especial emphasis in the national and international plans and policies.
The strategies of adaptation such as risk identification, integrated surveillance, alert network, emergency preparedness, and disease preparedness were identified as the prominent in health sector. The strong and efficient communication among the people and their networks, mobilization of community based organizations and nongovernmental organizations for early detection and response, strengthening of existing operational mechanisms and services, and building adequate human resources were some important strategies for upscaling community based adaptation in health sector.
Much more interesting and a take home message were the initiatives of Government of Bangladesh in the health sector with especial focus on adaptation to climate change, which every government in the least developed nations and developing nations must learn, and the civil society organizations need to lobby with their respective government. They have been prioritizing capacity building of human resources and communities, risk reducing practices and developing appropriate innovation and technology in the health sector. Community clinics at ward level to address climate vulnerability and community radio initiatives as early warning system can be taken as its attention at the local level. At the national level, the focus of health sector vulnerability and adaptation in Bangladesh Climate change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) and National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) can be considered as the major breakthroughs. The Climate Change and Health Promotion Unit (CCHP) under the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust, I considered an important and rational response of government to protect its vulnerable peoples.
In the conclusion, I was fortunate being with the health conscious people in the discussion who were actually distilled from the mass of 300 in the conference. I was there to get ideas and issues to integrate, in the future, the issues of health sector adaptation in the community level work and national policy lobby processes in my country. It was a good start from this conference that health issue got a priority. Nevertheless, the coming conferences, it would really provide insights for all if health is discussed in the plenary sessions than in a parallel session.
The issues of scaling up of community based adaptation in Health were discussed in the 20th parallel session of the 5th International Conference on Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change in Dhaka. The session was a good learning opportunity for me though it was attended by around 45 participants including the session chair and presenters. The cases and experiences from Bhutan, Vietnam, Jordan and Bangladesh reflected the importance of integrating health sector adaptation with an especial emphasis in the national and international plans and policies.
The strategies of adaptation such as risk identification, integrated surveillance, alert network, emergency preparedness, and disease preparedness were identified as the prominent in health sector. The strong and efficient communication among the people and their networks, mobilization of community based organizations and nongovernmental organizations for early detection and response, strengthening of existing operational mechanisms and services, and building adequate human resources were some important strategies for upscaling community based adaptation in health sector.
Much more interesting and a take home message were the initiatives of Government of Bangladesh in the health sector with especial focus on adaptation to climate change, which every government in the least developed nations and developing nations must learn, and the civil society organizations need to lobby with their respective government. They have been prioritizing capacity building of human resources and communities, risk reducing practices and developing appropriate innovation and technology in the health sector. Community clinics at ward level to address climate vulnerability and community radio initiatives as early warning system can be taken as its attention at the local level. At the national level, the focus of health sector vulnerability and adaptation in Bangladesh Climate change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) and National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) can be considered as the major breakthroughs. The Climate Change and Health Promotion Unit (CCHP) under the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust, I considered an important and rational response of government to protect its vulnerable peoples.
In the conclusion, I was fortunate being with the health conscious people in the discussion who were actually distilled from the mass of 300 in the conference. I was there to get ideas and issues to integrate, in the future, the issues of health sector adaptation in the community level work and national policy lobby processes in my country. It was a good start from this conference that health issue got a priority. Nevertheless, the coming conferences, it would really provide insights for all if health is discussed in the plenary sessions than in a parallel session.
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