Climate Change, Public Health and Sustainable Development: The Interlinkages

Development is a holistic concept which includes healthy and educated people; preserving environmental resources for future generations; protecting people from harmful consequences of climate change and eradicating poverty & hunger by ensuring distributive justice. This will result in more healthy and productive workforce and more development. The driving forces such as population growth and economic development put pressures on the environment and exposure to environmental hazards results in “risks to health” of people. Climate change results in food insecurity due to direct impact on crop yields resulting in malnutrition and poverty. Heat waves, floods, droughts and other extreme events result in loss of health and productivity. This is due to loss of shelter, increase in food & water borne diseases and also an increase in vector borne diseases. It is a joint responsibility of government, NGOs, civil society and private sector to break this vicious cycle of unplanned development, climate change, poverty and ill health. The study advocates converging together public health efforts, sustainable development efforts, environmental planning efforts and poverty alleviation efforts and to converse & co-ordinate with each other for a better future of whole humanity.