Connecting the Dots Between Climate Change, Health, and Equity

Climate change is a public health and equity crisis. Millions of people die globally every year because of health issues linked to climate change. While climate change negatively impacts health worldwide, its effects are particularly acute in South and Southeast Asia. Some key impacts of climate change on health in South and Southeast Asia include increased rates of waterborne and vector-borne diseases, heatstroke and respiratory illnesses, increased risk of malnutrition (particularly among children), and worsening air pollution (Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia, 2021).

The region’s complex topography, including high mountains, plains, long coastlines, and low-lying islands, increases its vulnerability to extreme weather events. Furthermore, it is important to recognize that the health impacts of climate change in this region are compounded not only by environmental factors but also by pre-existing structural inequalities. Caste, ethnicity, class, gender, age, physical ability, and other social determinants of health intersect to increase the vulnerability of certain populations. The combined effect of increasing natural hazards, changes in biophysical conditions, and these pre-existing socioeconomic and gender-based inequalities accelerates the impacts of climate change on health in South and Southeast Asia. For example, women, the poor, and socially marginalized groups often have less access to health care and are more dependent on climate-sensitive livelihoods, making them disproportionately vulnerable to climate-related health risks.

In this context, the United States National Academy of Medicine (NAM), the Partnership for Sustainable Development Nepal, the Nepal Health Research Council, the Nepal National Academy of Science and Technology, Nepal, SickKids Centre for Global Child Health, the Institute for Global Health & Development at The Aga Khan University, and The Inter-Academy Partnership organized a hybrid workshop, Connecting the Dots Between Climate Change and Health in Kathmandu, Nepal between March 14–15, 2024. This was the first meeting of a larger effort to build a research and innovation hub on climate change and health in South and Southeast Asia.

The workshop brought together high-level delegates, including global leaders, policy makers, scientists, and community implementers, to identify immediate and long-term priorities for the region, focusing on a climate-related health agenda. The objectives of the workshop were to (1) identify urgent needs, challenges, barriers, and opportunities to address the health impact of climate change in the South and Southeast Asia region; (2) highlight and share best practices and policies on addressing the adverse impacts of climate change on health, gender disparities, and equity; and (3) identify opportunities and strategies for regional partnerships to address climate-related health issues.