Health and Climate Change in Africa Documentary

Summary

The video script discusses the significant impact of climate change on global health, particularly in Africa, where it exacerbates diseases like malaria, Rift Valley fever, and schistosomiasis. It highlights collaborative research projects funded by the European Union, focusing on understanding and mitigating the effects of climate change on vector-borne diseases. The script emphasizes the importance of international cooperation, local partnerships, and the development of decision support tools to predict and manage disease outbreaks, aiming to improve Africa's resilience against climate-related health threats.

Takeaways

• 🌍 The Earth has been warming significantly over the last century, with human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels, being the major contributors to this warming.
• 🏜️ The African continent is particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming, such as melting glaciers, rising sea levels, and increased desertification.
• 🤝 In response to these challenges, the African Union and the European Union have initiated collaborative research efforts focused on water, agriculture, and health.
• 💡 The FP7 Africa Core initiative was a result of this collaboration, funding several research projects aimed at helping people cope with climate change.
• 🦟 Malaria is a major health concern in Africa, with climate change affecting mosquito breeding grounds and potentially increasing infection rates.
• 📚 The Lancet and University College London have identified climate change as the most significant global health threat of the 21st century, with Africa being disproportionately affected.
• 💧 Africa's reliance on rain-fed agriculture and hydropower makes it highly susceptible to climate variability, leading to food and water security issues.
• 🔬 The EU is funding projects like 'Healthy Futures' and 'Question' to study the impact of climate change on health, focusing on vector-borne diseases prevalent in Africa.
• 🌡️ Climate change is expected to exacerbate existing health risks, with diseases like malaria, Rift Valley fever, and schistosomiasis being of particular concern.
• 🤝 Collaborations between European and African researchers, governments, and other stakeholders are crucial for understanding and addressing the complex challenges posed by climate change.
• 🌱 The 'Healthy Futures' project specifically works with local partners in East Africa to study diseases like malaria and Rift Valley fever, aiming to develop early warning systems and improve adaptive capacity.

Q & A

What is the primary cause of global warming mentioned in the script?

The primary cause of global warming mentioned is human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, which release large quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

How does global warming impact the African continent?

Global warming impacts Africa by causing glaciers to melt, sea levels to rise, and an increase in desert areas. It also makes the continent more vulnerable to diseases like malaria due to changes in temperature and precipitation patterns.

What are the three key research areas identified by the African Union and the European Union to address the effects of climate change?

The three key research areas identified are water, agriculture, and health, as these sectors are significantly affected by climate change.

What is the FP7 Africa Core and why was it established?

The FP7 Africa Core is a funding initiative that resulted from a call for project proposals to support collaborative research projects aimed at helping people cope with climate change.

Why is Africa particularly vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change?

Africa is vulnerable due to its reliance on rain-fed agriculture, hydropower for electricity, and direct dependence on rain for water supply. Climate change can disrupt these, leading to food and water shortages and increased disease.

What is the significance of the Lancet's statement regarding climate change as a health threat?

The Lancet, a leading medical journal, has described climate change as the biggest global health threat of the 21st century, highlighting the urgency and severity of its impact on health, particularly in vulnerable regions like Africa.

What are the two main projects funded by the EU to address climate change and health?

The two main projects are 'Question' and 'Healthy Futures', which focus on the impact of climate change on vector-borne diseases in Africa.

How do the projects 'Question' and 'Healthy Futures' complement each other?

The projects 'Question' and 'Healthy Futures' are complementary as 'Question' focuses on the western part of Africa while 'Healthy Futures' focuses on the eastern part, both studying major vector-borne diseases present in different African regions.

What are the objectives of the 'Healthy Futures' project?

The objectives of the 'Healthy Futures' project include improving knowledge on how environmental and social factors impact disease vector distribution, developing decision support tools for local players and policymakers to predict disease outbreaks, and enhancing adaptive capacity to cope with climate-related diseases.

How does the 'Healthy Futures' project work with local partners in Africa?

The 'Healthy Futures' project collaborates with various partners in East Africa, including Ministries of Health in Uganda and Rwanda, the International Livestock Research Institute in Kenya, and involves training PhD students, bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders to address climate-related health issues.

What is the potential impact of climate change on the spread of malaria as mentioned in the script?

Climate change is expected to affect the life cycle of mosquitoes and the malaria parasite, potentially causing malaria to spread into new areas, increasing the number of infections and deaths.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Global Warming and Its Impact on Africa

This paragraph discusses the significant increase in global temperatures over the past century, with a more pronounced effect over the last 50 years. It attributes this warming primarily to human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. The consequences of this warming are felt worldwide, including the melting of glaciers, rising sea levels, and the expansion of desert areas. Africa is particularly vulnerable to these effects, prompting the African Union and the European Union to collaborate on research in three key areas affected by climate change: water, agriculture, and health. This collaboration led to the funding of several research projects aimed at helping people cope with climate change. The paragraph also highlights the increased prevalence of malaria due to climate change, affecting about 3/4 of the population, and the recognition by The Lancet and University College London of climate change as the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.

05:01

🌡️ Climate Change and Health Research in Africa

This paragraph delves into the collaborative research efforts between the EU and Africa to address the health impacts of climate change. It discusses two major projects funded through the EU's 7th Framework Programme: 'Healthy Futures' and 'Question'. These projects focus on the impact of climate change on vector-borne diseases prevalent in Africa, such as malaria, Rift Valley fever, and schistosomiasis. The projects aim to improve understanding of how environmental and social factors influence the distribution of disease vectors and to develop decision support tools for local health and veterinary services and policymakers. The paragraph also emphasizes the importance of collaboration across different sectors and the training of African researchers to build capacity for addressing climate-related health issues. It mentions the specific work being done in East Africa in collaboration with health ministries and research institutes, highlighting the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to tackling complex societal problems.

10:01

🌡️ Climate Change's Effect on Disease Transmission

This paragraph focuses on the impact of climate change on the transmission of diseases like malaria and Rift Valley fever, which are carried by mosquitoes. It discusses a research project that measures the effects of climate change on health in Africa by examining seasonal forecasts for rainfall and temperature to predict disease outbreaks. The project involves collaboration with African scientists and stakeholders, including national malaria and livestock programs, to use these models for decision support in health and livestock ministries. The paragraph also touches on the broader implications of these diseases on local communities, including lost workdays and economic impacts, and raises questions about the adequacy of global efforts to mitigate the health effects of climate change in Africa. It concludes with a mention of 'Horizon 2020', the EU's research and innovation program, as a potential source of funding for further research into the relationship between climate change and infectious diseases.

15:03

🤝 Collaboration for a Healthier Future

The final paragraph emphasizes the importance of the collaboration between the African Union and the European Union in addressing the challenges posed by climate change. It suggests that with sufficient funding and continued research efforts, positive changes can be made to secure a healthier future for Africa. The paragraph implies that the collaborative research and initiatives discussed earlier are crucial steps towards mitigating the health risks associated with climate change and improving the resilience of African communities.

Keywords

💡Global Warming

Global warming refers to the long-term increase in Earth's average surface temperature due to human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. In the video, global warming is highlighted as the primary cause of climate change, affecting the planet's temperature and leading to various environmental impacts like melting glaciers and rising sea levels.

💡Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse gases are gases in the atmosphere that trap heat, leading to the greenhouse effect and global warming. The video mentions carbon dioxide as a significant greenhouse gas, emphasizing the role of human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, in releasing these gases into the atmosphere.

💡African Union

The African Union is a political organization of African countries, aiming to propel a united continent towards peace and prosperity. In the context of the video, the African Union collaborates with the European Union to address the impacts of climate change, particularly in research areas like water, agriculture, and health.

💡European Union

The European Union is a political and economic union of European countries that operates through a system of supranational institutions. The video discusses the EU's role in funding collaborative research projects with the African Union to help people cope with climate change.

💡Climate Change

Climate change is a broad term that refers to shifts in long-term weather patterns, often with significant changes in average temperatures and weather events. The video underscores climate change as a global issue, with Africa being particularly vulnerable to its negative effects.

💡Malaria

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. The video highlights malaria as a leading health issue in Africa, exacerbated by climate change, which affects mosquito breeding grounds and the spread of the disease.

💡Rift Valley Fever

Rift Valley fever is a disease caused by a virus carried by mosquitoes, affecting both animals and humans. The video mentions Rift Valley fever as one of the diseases studied within the 'healthy futures' project, emphasizing its connection to climate change and vector-borne diseases.

💡Schistosomiasis

Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia or snail fever, is a parasitic disease caused by flatworms known as schistosomes. The video discusses schistosomiasis as another vector-borne disease prevalent in Africa, impacted by environmental factors influenced by climate change.

💡Adaptive Capacity

Adaptive capacity refers to the ability of a system, community, or individual to adjust to potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences. In the video, it is mentioned that Africa lacks an appropriate adaptive capacity to deal with climate-related diseases, emphasizing the need for improved strategies and tools.

💡Horizon 2020

Horizon 2020 is a European research and innovation program with nearly 80 billion euros of funding available over seven years until 2020. The video suggests that Horizon 2020 could drive progress in addressing climate change and its impacts, including funding for new research projects.

💡Public Health

Public health encompasses the organized efforts of society to prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life. The video discusses the significant threat that climate change poses to public health in Africa, with the World Health Organization estimating the global cost of climate change to public health.

Highlights

Human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, are largely responsible for global warming.

The African continent is especially vulnerable to the negative effects of global warming.

The African Union and the European Union are collaborating on research in water, agriculture, and health due to climate change.

Malaria is a leading health threat in Africa, exacerbated by climate change.

Climate change is described as the biggest global health threat of the 21st century by The Lancet and University College London.

Africa bears 25% of the global disease burden with only 12.3% of the world's population.

Africa's vulnerability is due to its heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture and hydropower.

The EU is funding projects like 'Healthy Futures' and 'Question' to address climate change's health impacts.

Climate change is expected to worsen existing health risks, particularly in vulnerable regions like Africa.

The 'Question' project focuses on the western part of Africa, while 'Healthy Futures' focuses on the eastern part.

These projects aim to improve knowledge on how environmental and social factors impact disease vector distribution.

Decision support tools are being developed to help predict disease outbreaks and improve adaptive capacity.

Malaria, Rift Valley fever, and schistosomiasis are the main infections studied within the 'Healthy Futures' project.

Collaboration is essential to understand and address the complex societal issues posed by climate change.

Local efforts to contain diseases like Rift Valley fever can sometimes exacerbate the problem.

Behavior change interventions and improved policies are necessary to manage climate-driven diseases.

The 'Healthy Futures' project works with various partners, including Ministries of Health and research institutes.

Climate change impacts are already visible, with diseases like malaria causing significant loss of workdays and school absences.

The European Commission's funding has been crucial for projects like 'Healthy Futures' and 'Question'.

Horizon 2020, with nearly 80 billion euros in funding, will drive further research and innovation in this field.

The collaboration between the African Union and the European Union is bringing about positive changes for Africa's future.

Transcripts

over the course of the last century our

planet has become a warmer but in

particular over the last 50 years it is

now recognised that human activities are

largely responsible for this warming in

particular the burning of fossil fuels

has released huge quantities of carbon

dioxide and other greenhouse gases which

trap additional heat in the lower

atmosphere the impact of this is being

seen worldwide as glaciers melt sea

levels rise and there are more desert

areas the African continent is

particularly exposed and vulnerable to

the negative effects of global warming

therefore the African Union and the

European Union have started to work

together in the three key research areas

affected by climate change water

agriculture and health the result of

this decision was a call for project

proposals the fp7 Africa core out of

which several collaborative research

projects were funded to help people

coping with climate change

about 3/4 of the people are infected

with malaria because of the you know the

this lamb is in between the two livers

and around here there's also another leg

which is coming up so simply the

breeding places is feel closed so that's

why I'm mosquito is very yeah there are

very many mosquitoes which is actually

affecting people that's why they are

mostly infected with malaria the leading

medical journal the lancet together with

University College London described

climate change as the biggest global

health threat of the 21st century

nowhere is a situation more acute than

in Africa with just twelve point three

percent of the world's population but

twenty five percent of the global

disease burden it is vital that Africa

and the international community

addressed this issue Africa is very

vulnerable to climate change the reason

is because Africa invests in climate

related investments or activities Africa

invests in the use of water directly

congregate the rain-fed most of the

agriculture in Africa is rain fed

directly so when rain fails the

agriculture fails Africa depends on

hydro power electricity to a large

extent so when there is no rain you have

no hydropower i frickin depends directly

on rain to supply water to the dams for

the supply in towns and to communities

so when rain fails the communities the

municipal are in trouble so Africa is

very vulnerable

the EU has a long history of research

collaborations in Africa and is

currently funding two projects healthy

futures and question through its 7th

Framework Programme to look at the issue

of climate change in health it is

recognized by the scientific community

that climate change will exacerbate

existing risks to health and so the

populations that are now facing severe

climate related diseases will be the

ones most severely impacted also in the

future and in that regard Africa is

amongst the most vulnerable regions in

the world in addition to that they're

lacking an appropriate adaptive capacity

to cope with those important climate

related diseases the two main projects

question healthy futures they are

focused on the impact of climate change

on vector borne diseases on major vector

more diseases that are present in Africa

the two projects are complementary quite

key the project quite she is more

focused on the western part of Africa

was healthy futures on the eastern part

and they are both looking at major

effect on more diseases that are

currently present in different African

regions such as malaria rich valley

fever schistosomiasis and a series of

tick borne diseases they have common

objectives and mainly they are trying to

improve the knowledge we have on how

environmental factors but also social

Konami's factors are impacting on the

distribution of the vectors that are

carrying the diseases and related to

this based on an improved knowledge they

are developing decision support tools

that eventually should enable local

players such as health and veterinary

services and also policymakers to better

predict disease outbreaks and based on

that to improve their adaptive capacity

to cope with with this very important

climate related diseases the three

infections were studying within healthy

futures are malaria Rift Valley fever

and Schuster

myiasis malaria of course is a very

well-known public health problem it

affects hundreds of millions of people

across the tropics and subtropics in

many hundreds of thousands of deaths

annually it's transmitted by mosquitoes

mosquito is of course very susceptible

to temperature changes so we're

interested in how climate change in

particular will affect the life cycle of

mosquitoes and the malaria parasite

itself schistosomiasis is a worm

infection that lives in the blood

it affects between 200 and 400 million

people again living in tropical and

subtropical areas it can live for

several years and it creates disease

it's less fatal than malaria but it can

exist for a long time and affects people

their entire lives Rift Valley fever is

a virus it's an epidemic virus that

tends to occur only once every maybe ten

years when there's extreme weather

events again it's transmitted by

mosquitoes

it affects mainly animals but can also

affect humans

so within healthy futures we're working

collaboratively with a range of partners

within East Africa we work with the

Ministry of Health in Uganda we also

work with the Ministry of Health in

Rwanda and we're involved in training

exercises particularly for Rift Valley

fever and schistosomiasis were training

PhD students we're working with Ellery

which is the International Livestock

Research Institute in Kenya and we have

a number of PhD students who are part of

the healthy futures training program so

we're bringing together collaborators

from different backgrounds from

government from meteorological

Institute's from academic institutes and

research institutes in both Europe and

Africa to work together Society is

complex and many of the problems that we

face as a society are also complex and

cannot be solved by one person working

alone we have to collaborate in order to

really understand how these issues

affect is and how we can then intervene

with the right kind of solutions we need

to bring actors together from different

areas from the public and the private

sector but also from civic society

academic researchers all types of basic

and applied researchers need to work

together to come to a more holistic and

complete understanding of the issue

before you can really tackle it properly

I work with Rift Valley fever which is a

mosquito-borne infection cattle and

people it's one of the disease which is

climate driven it's influenced by the

population of vectors and the

distribution of hosts I see attempt by

the local people to contain the disease

by doing land use changes which actually

exacerbate the appearance of the disease

for example because these dry lands are

becoming less productive so we see more

of irrigation being done sort of like to

improve productivity but in a sense

those interventions are also they tend

to increase the risk of this much

infectious diseases specifically Rift

Valley fever because of what the

appearance of vectors the first step is

to work with them to understand the risk

of exposure I'd to understand what are

those practices which make them to be

more exposed to the disease so that we

can do behavior change interventions so

that would be one of one way of working

with the local people to develop their

own interventions on the ground the

other thing will be working with the

decision-makers to improve their

policies for the disease so for example

developing decision support tools which

will help help them manage that this is

better some ten years ago you know

people were healthy and we were eating

animal product without any problem but

now it seems the animals are sick people

are sick everybody's sick sick with this

a issue with malaria almost every week

we have about

fifteen children missing school a week

15 to even 20 because of malaria the

impact of global warming on temperatures

as the disease happens are changing for

example malaria kills around six hundred

and sixty thousand people a year

worldwide it's expected this may rise as

malaria begins to spread into new areas

when she is a research project working

in West Africa and southern Africa which

measures the effect of climate change on

health in Africa we're looking at

seasonal time scale forecasts for

rainfall and temperature and using that

information to predict the risk of a

range of diseases we're working on both

malaria and Rift Valley fever which are

diseases which are carried by mosquitoes

so how many months of the year does it

rain and if the temperatures are viable

for both the growth of the insect let's

say a mosquito and also the growth of

the infectious agent particularly within

when it's developing with inside the

mosquito having local partners essential

for working in in Africa we're working

with both African scientists who are

very much the same as me they're working

on scientific problems and we're also

working with a range of stakeholders

including National malaria program and

the national Livestock program in

Senegal the African scientists are using

our models to work with their decisions

support partners in the in the

ministries of health and the ministries

of livestock and this is really the

project really is a two-way exchange

information comes from Africa

information goes from Europe to Africa

and without the partners in Africa we

would not have such detailed information

the work is important because we leave a

legacy behind in Africa

through the training of a whole

generation of research scientists in the

institutions where where we were we've

also brought together European

researchers in ways that perhaps had not

occurred in the past and we actually are

almost on the edge of being an

operational early warning system for

malaria queasy and healthy futures

projects would not have happened if it

was not for the funding of the European

Commission

and all the partners in both the

projects are very grateful for the

funding that has been provided malaria

affected these people in so many ways

one of them is lost workdays for example

these people in Murray got and

especially around this the catchment

area of this hospital many of them do

farming and farming and we use

irrigation water for farming so if

somebody's affected by malaria for sure

they do not go to the work place so in

that sense it has affected people in

that they cannot produce they cannot

produce their food they cannot turn to

their farms they cannot tend to their

cattle because some of the communities

are pastoralists so in that sense it has

affected them and again it also that

means in the long run it also affects

their economy and again the impact of

that is probably poverty increased

poverty levels so is enough being done

on a global scale to mitigate the

effects of climate change on people's

health in Africa Europe and elsewhere

and what other research is needed

looking forward one development which

will undoubtedly drive progress is

horizon 2020 the biggest you research an

innovation program ever with nearly 80

billion euros of funding available over

seven years until 2020 there's a lot

more we could do with the ideas that

we've generated within horizon 2020 for

new research project purposes an obvious

idea will be to look at more infectious

diseases we only had the scope within

healthy futures to

Rift Valley fever schistosomiasis and

malaria but people living in the tropics

and the sub tropics are affected by a

great range of different infectious

diseases including other worms bacteria

viruses and protozoans there's scope for

incorporating some of the methods that

we've developed in healthy futures to

cover these or other diseases climate

change is a significant threat to public

health on the African continent the

World Health Organization estimates that

the global cost of climate change to

public health will be between two to

four billion dollars per year by 2030

the collaboration between researchers

from the African Union and the European

Union is starting to bring about

positive changes to Africa's future this

can only continue there is sufficient

funding

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