Over $2b needed in next 11 years

Bangladesh's health sector will have to spend at least 2.08 billion US dollars to tackle the probable consequences of climate change the country may face over the period from 2010 to 2021.
The health ministry has estimated that if the sea level rises by one metre and 30 million people fall at risk, such an investment will be needed to deal with the disease burden and to build and repair health sector infrastructures during the period.
Dr Iqbal Kabir, coordinator of the ministry's Climate Change and Health Promotion Unit, said this at a press briefing yesterday after a three-day Southeast Asia regional high-level preparatory meeting for the 16th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel.
Dr Iqbal said the estimate was made by forecasting the pattern of the diseases that would increase due to the climate change effects, the treatment costs of those diseases and the extent to which the health infrastructures would be harmed.
Circumstances as such tend to threaten a country's nutrition and food security, and increase diseases like dengue and malaria, he said.
Bangladesh will have to build new hospitals and repair the older ones for their probable damage by cyclones and other disasters during this period, he added.
Speaking at the press briefing, Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque said, “Scientists have forecast that global warming will eventually increase the sea level and a large part of the country will go under water."
Bangladesh is already facing the consequences of global temperature rise and climate changes in the form of increased rates of floods and devastating cyclones like Sidr and Aila, he added.
“The health sector receives the primary impact of such floods and cyclones, so the health issues need to be addressed at the UNFCCC to be held at Cancun from November 29 to December 10,” the minister said.
"The issue of health impacts of climate change did not get due importance in the Cop-15 in Copenhagen last year,” he said adding that, “We will present this estimation at the Cop-16 in Cancun this year.”
The minister read out the meeting's Dhaka declaration that urged that greater efforts and timely actions are needed at national, regional and global level to increase the resilience and adaptation of the vulnerable population to minimise the health impacts of climate change.
The Dhaka declaration urged on making the health issue as a central issue in climate policy and urged on allocating resources for adaptation by the health sector.
A total of 65 participants from 11 South East Asia Region (SEAR) countries, including Bangladesh and India, and World Health Organisation (WHO) offices attended the meeting.
WHO acting country representative Dr Serguei Diorditsa and Health Secretary Humayun Kabir were also present at the press briefing.