Concerns have been raised by environmental experts that climate change may affect the health and well-being of people through the impacts of worsening air quality, changes in the spread of infectious diseases, threats to food, effects on citizens’ mental health, water quality and quantity.
The experts, who said there are measures that could be taken to build the country’s resilience to the effects of climate change and help slow its pace, said effects of climate change include increasing air and sea temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns, more frequent and increasingly severe extreme weather events and rising sea level.
According to a Consultant Gynaecologist and Obstetrician at the Epe General Hospital, Epe, Lagos, Dr. Cynthia Okafor, who said the changes will have significant consequences on people’s health, well-being and safety, said most recent changes in the climate were brought about by human activity.
Speaking on those most vulnerable to climate change, she noted that children are more susceptible, especially to heat stress, dehydration, air pollution and smoke from bushfires.
She noted that their immune systems are not fully developed, which put them at increased risk of infections, saying that they often rely on adults to keep them safe during emergencies and to help them recover afterwards.
Also, pregnant women, the gynaecologist said are at increased risk of suffering heat stress during heat waves due to the physiological demands of pregnancy.
According to her, “Older people and others with pre-existing medical conditions are more prone to dehydration, heat stress, infections, exacerbation of heart and lung disease. Also, people living in the rural and remote areas with low incomes and other vulnerable populations are also at increased risk due to inequalities in underlying health outcomes and limited accessibility to healthcare and other services.”
She added that people living in rural or remote communities or along the coast are also at risk of suffering from the negative effects of bushfires, droughts, storms and sea level rises.
Also, the Country Director, Save the Children International Nigeria, Mr. Famari Barro, while speaking during the inauguration of ‘Generation Hope’ campaign in Abuja, meant to galvanise Federal Government’s commitment to climate change mitigation and adaptation, said women and children bear the brunt of the adverse effects of climate change.
Barro, who was represented by the Director of Advocacy, Campaign, Communication and Media of the organisation, Mr Amanuel Mamo said, “These results in an increase in inequality, displacement, or migration of communities, including crop failure, low food production, hunger, and extreme poverty.
“Others are malnutrition, conflict and lack of access to basic social and development services particularly education, health, and social protection services.”
He described the climate crisis as a global emergency and stressed the need for government at all levels to develop strategies that would minimise its effect.
According to Barro, the main objective of the campaign is to enhance climate actions, secure the commitment of the Nigerian governments, and mobilise stakeholders to invest in child-sensitive interventions.
He said through the campaign, SCI would significantly contribute to building climate resilience for children, their families, and communities through shock-responsive interventions.
On her part, the Director, Department of Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment, Dr. Iniobong Abiola-Awe, said that climate change was responsible for rising temperatures, and erratic weather patterns, saying “These effects have a devastating consequence on floods, drought, and land degradation.”
However, an expert in climate change and development, Professor Chukwumerije Okereke expressed concern over the negligence of rural dwellers’ intervention efforts on climate change adaptation and mitigation in Nigeria.
He noted that there is over-concentration of intervention efforts at the national and sub-national levels, while rural dwellers who are the most vulnerable are neglected.
The professor said the often-neglected rural dwellers possess intelligence and resourcefulness in innovating ways of adapting to climate change, saying that such potential must not be overlooked by policymakers.
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