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Topic: Climate change: the greatest global health threat of the 21st century.

Climate change, loss of species and pollution are some of the most urgent aspects of the environmental crisis that threatens human health and wellbeing. The voice of the health sector is often absent from the dialogue on the environmental crisis. However, leading medical journals, such as The Lancet, believe that “climate change is the greatest global health threat facing the world in the 21st century". The consequences are already with us and are reported on a daily basis. African communities are maybe the most vulnerable globally to the effects of climate change and health systems will face significant challenges. The nexus of climate change and human health has different aspects which will be explored in my lecture. Firstly, climate change is changing the burden of disease seen in our communities – we are seeing changes in malnutrition, water-borne infections, malaria and heat-related conditions to name just a few. Many of the social determinants of health will also be impacted, for example through migration and displacement of populations as well as conflict. Secondly, the health services themselves will face many of the same challenges as communities. For example, extreme weather events can disrupt health facilities and services and there is a need to look at how we can prepare to be more resilient. Lastly, the health industry can be a significant contributor to greenhouse gases and climate change, and ironically be part of the problem. Health services need to look at how they can mitigate their contribution and develop to be carbon neutral.

More about the presenter

Bob Mash is a Distinguished Professor in Family Medicine at Stellenbosch University and heads up the Department of Family and Emergency Medicine. He has had a long-standing interest in the environmental crisis facing our planet and the implications of this for health and wellness. He chairs the Deans Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and has recently employed a Lecturer in Planetary Health within the Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care. He is the Chair of the global Primary Health Care Research Consortium that focuses on improving primary health care in low- and middle-income countries. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the African journal of Primary Health Care and Family Medicine and co-ordinates the Primary Care and Family Medicine network in sub-Saharan Africa. He was awarded honorary lifetime membership of the World Organisation of Family Doctors and in 2019 received an award from the South African Medical Association for Extraordinary Service to Medicine.