Climate change worsening HIV control in Asia Pacific

28/07/2023 0 Comments read Climate Change, Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Brisbane, 28.07.2023 (SciDev.Net): Climate change-driven extreme weather events, sea level rise, changes in temperature, and air and water pollution are impacting control of HIV in the Asia Pacific region, a science gathering heard.

The warning comes amid unprecedented heatwaves, as the UN warns the world has already warmed by 1.1 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times.

“Those most affected by climate change are also those most prone to communicable diseases,” said Kiyohiko Izumi, team leader for HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Western Pacific Regional Office. “Climate change and related disasters as upstream factors can affect all aspects of HIV, primarily leading to the increased vulnerability to HIV and decreasing coping ability,”

Izumi was speaking at a session on how climate change is impacting the control of HIV in the Asia Pacific region, organised by WHO during the 12th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science, held in Brisbane, Australia, this week (23-26 July).

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Pacific Island Countries to develop Advanced Warning System for tuna migration

19/04/2023 0 Comments read Climate Change, Environment & Development, Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 19.04.2023 (IPS): Climate change and warming ocean waters are causing tuna fisheries to migrate to international waters, away from a country’s jurisdiction, thereby putting the food and economic security of many Pacific Island countries and territories at risk. Now a Pacific Community (SPC) led regional initiative will help ensure that these countries are equipped to cope with climate change-induced tuna migration.

“All the climate change projections indicate that there will be a redistribution of tuna from the western and central Pacific to the more eastern and towards the polar regions, that is not Antarctica or the Arctic, but to regions outside of the equatorial zones where they primarily occur at the moment,” says SPC’s Principal Fisheries Scientist, Dr Simon Nicol.

“This has really important implications for the Pacific Island countries. Our projections suggest that about one-fifth or about USD 100 million of the income derived from the tuna industry directly is likely to be lost by 2050 by these countries,” Nicol tells IPS.

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Food early warning systems can stave off famines

30/11/2022 0 Comments read Climate Change, Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 30.11.2022 (SciDev.Net): As reliable sources of quality food diminish and record numbers of people are driven to hunger due to conflicts, climate change and economic downturns, feeding the global population of eight billion poses a major challenge that demands better food early warning information systems.

Conflict is the biggest driver of hunger, with 60 per cent of the world’s hungry living in areas affected by war and violence. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) simulations indicate that the war in Ukraine could result in 19 million more people facing chronic undernourishment globally in 2023 — if reduced food exports from the breadbaskets of the Russian Federation and Ukraine continue to impact world food availability.

Acute food insecurity is likely to get worse in many parts of the world during the October 2022 to January 2023 outlook period, requiring urgent targeted humanitarian action to save lives and livelihoods, according to the 2022 Hunger Hotspots report of FAO and World Food Programme (WFP).

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