‘Address climate impacts on health’
The impact of climate change on people's health should be addressed adequately in the National Plan (NAP) on climate change, said speakers at an event.
The proposed NAP has several provisions on health. However, those are not elaborated in the plan, for which there should be a separate chapter, they said at the event, titled "National Consultation on Health Effect of Climate Change: Inclusion of Health into NAP Process", held in Dhaka on Tuesday.
"We cannot separate health-related issues from the NAP. We will properly integrate the health-related aspect of climate change in the action plan," said Md Anwar Hossain Howlader, secretary of the Health Services Division at the health ministry, while speaking as chief guest.
Vibhavendra Raghuyamshi, UNFPA chief of health, spoke on the objectives of the workshop. "We are here to see how the health sector can be a part of the national plan," Raghuyamshi said.
Prof Md Iqbal Kabir, coordinator of the Climate Change and Health Promotion Unit (CCHPU) at the health ministry, presented a keynote on the activities of CCHPU and the inclusion of health-related aspects into the NAP.
Referring to the World Health Organization data, he said only 0.5 percent of the global climate budget was allocated to the health sector. "In Bangladesh, the amount is even smaller -- only 0.35 percent is allocated for the health sector. There should be a budget for addressing the climate issue in the health sector," he added.
During the expert panel discussion, Malik Fida A Khan, executive director of Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services, made a multimedia presentation pointing out how health issues have been addressed in the NAP.
Emeritus Professor Ainun Nishat, said, "After the NAP is approved by the prime minister, there should be a sector-wide plan for the health aspect."
The former vice chancellor of Brac University also stressed preparing the sectoral NAP based on the realities of the country.
During the interactive session, speakers stressed the coordination among different ministries in implementing the NAP.
Prof Md Zillur Rahman, chairman of the Department of Disaster Science and Climate Resilience, also the dean of the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Dhaka University, stressed the need for sectoral plan focusing on climate change on health.
"The health sector is already lagging, which is why the sectoral plan is crucial," he added.
Speakers also stressed thorough research for making an evidence-based decision.
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