Increasing climate change will have negative effects on health, especially on children, a report in The Lancet journal says.
A report published in The Lancet shows that the impacts of climate change on infants in Kenya will worsen as temperatures continue to rise.
The report released in December indicated that children will be among the worst affected by the rise in infectious diseases.
Nick Watts, the Lancet Countdown executive director, said in the report that health effects of climate change will be felt strongly in Africa due to the high rates of healthcare inequality, poverty and food insecurity.
“Dengue and malaria will spread into new areas, and a more hostile climate will continue to threaten food security. Without immediate action, climate change will come to define the health of an entire generation,” he said.
“The ability of one type of mosquito to transmit dengue fever in Kenya has increased by 20 per cent since 1950 due to climate change. In addition, climatic suitability for the transmission of malaria continues to increase in highland areas of Nairobi,” the report read.
The report further indicated that children are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition as crop yield continues to reduce in Kenya. Since 1960, the report shows that crop yield in Kenya has reduced by 6.4 pe cent for maize, 1.5 per cent and 15 per cent for wheat and rice, respectively.
The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change sought to track progress on what the world is doing to meet the Paris Agreement target of reducing global warming to below two degrees Celsius.
“We cannot afford to wait on the sidelines for the right decisions to be made. We must lend our voices to those calling for urgent action now,
The report was a collaboration between 120 experts from 35 institutions including the World Health Organization, International Livestock Research Institute, World Bank and the University College of London among others.
ILRI is at the forefront of efforts to find solutions for the livestock sector under climate change that incorporate the perspectives and well-being of people in the developing world, Jimmy Smith, ILRI director general, said.
ILRI says several major droughts since 2000 have affected tens of millions of people and cost billions of dollars in livestock losses, particularly in the arid and semi-arid lands.
“They are expected to increase in frequency and intensity, with particularly severe consequences for vulnerable population groups such as children,” Smith said.
Rosemary Sang, a scientist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute who has closely studied climate-driven diseases endemic to Kenya said past and current economic activities in the West are likely to affect Africa's future for decades to come.
“We cannot afford to wait on the sidelines for the right decisions to be made. We must lend our voices to those calling for urgent action now,” she said.
