PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has announced establishment of ‘climate change cell’ in health department to cope with the challenges posed by water-borne and vector-borne diseases to people.

A report launched here on Thursday said that climatic change was causing water-borne and vector-borne diseases including malaria and dengue that were adversely affecting the health of women, children and elderly people in the province.

According to a press release, the launching ceremony of the report on alarming effects of climate change on health was chaired by Ihtesham Ali, the adviser to chief minister on health.

Khyber Medical University Vice-chancellor Prof Ziaul Haq, Special Secretary Health Abdul Ghafoor Shah, the chief of health sector reform unit, Dr Khalil Akhtar, and the chief economist of planning and development department, Arifullah, also attended the event.

Report says water-borne and vector-borne diseases adversely affecting people

Ihtesham Ali said that health sector was severely impacted by climate change. He announced establishment of a climate change cell in health department to combat those challenges. He stressed the need for raising public awareness about impacts of climate change on health.

He said urged donors to support health department’s efforts for becoming climate-resilient. He said that the recommendations outlined in the report would be fully implemented to bring about revolutionary changes in health department.

He acknowledged that deforestation, unplanned urbanisation and lack of decisive actions to combat climate change significantly affected the health sector. He added that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the first province to conduct a vulnerability assessment on the effects of climate change on health.

This assessment proposes a clear way forward for developing a climate-resilient health system in the province, which will help in protecting health of people and planning more effectively for future.

British High Commission’s Jo Moir said that UK was supporting health system in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to address challenges originating from climate change. The report provides a roadmap to protect the health of communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s vulnerable populations, including individuals with pre-existing health conditions, elderly and persons with disabilities, women and children.

Director General Health Services Dr Saleem Khan said that they learnt from the findings of the assessment that the overall health system was highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. “The findings and recommendations will help us to develop health programmes with a focus on water-borne, vector-borne and respiratory diseases,” he added.

As a next step, findings and recommendations from climate and health vulnerability assessment will feed into an actionable adaptation plan for the provincial government.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2024