Accra, April 7, GNA - The world is losing 60,000 people annually to natural disasters resulting from climate change, which had become a global threat to public health security, Health Minister, Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd) said on Monday.

He said if it was allowed to continue, climate change would cause drastic reductions in food production levels in areas that were dependant on rain-fed agriculture and also increase demand for health care services since cases of malaria, diarrhoea, malnutrition and many infectious diseases would rise.

Speaking at the launch of World Health Day in Accra, the Minister said the global problem could reverse several years of development mankind had achieved and called for global efforts to solve it. The Day is on the theme; "Protecting Health from Climate Change". WHO was formed 60 years ago as a specialized agency of the United Nations to see to the health of the people.

On the national level, Major Quashigah charged individuals, societies, communities and organizations to contribute their quota by developing strategies for combating this major global threat and explained that the current flooding in parts of the country has been caused by disregard for natural laws.

He identified them as indiscriminate disposal of waste, especially plastics, depletion of the forest and pollution of water bodies. "Let me challenge Ghanaians to make it a point to plant and nurture a tree at least in your lifetime as your contribution to reversing your own carbon footprint."

Major Quashigah also called for immediate action in lifestyles and attitudes and noted that the effect of the global climate system could be abrupt or irreversible, sparing no country, causing more intense heat waves, rainstorms, tropical cyclones and surges in sea level. The media, he said, should be at the forefront in educating the public on the threat posed by climate change due to behaviours and practices that degrade the environment. He made a special appeal to media houses to give attention to the issue and the action needed to put it under control.

He further charged traditional authorities to protect natural resources from destruction saying, "our forests, our rivers, our land, our environment are a natural gift without which life will be impossible on earth. it would be very irresponsible to destroy what is available now and leave nothing for those yet unborn".

"We need to look at these little challenges and resolve to change as a people. These require clear policies and strict implementation mechanisms if we are to succeed."

He congratulated the World Health Organisation (WHO) for turning 60 and said it had come of age with luxury of time to experiment and made mistakes. It was now expected that its role in securing global health would be based on experience, the Minster said. WHO, he observed, had been outstanding in keeping down major childhood diseases and had also been instrumental in the development of a large arsenal of vaccines and drugs to combat diseases that afflicted people of all ages.

Dr Joachim Saweka, WHO Country Representative, cited the potential effects of global warming as the appearance of mosquitoes at where they were previously absent, reduced rainfall in some areas and shortage of fresh water, which could result in water borne disease. He said global warming had reached a critical stage and that action had to be taken in strengthening surveillance and control of infectious diseases, ensuring safer use of diminishing water supplies and coordinating health actions in emergencies.

Dr Saweka commended the government for the collaborative and partnership skills exhibited in ensuring WHO's support in promoting research and dissemination of results to influence decision making and ensure that WHO standards and norms were fully implemented. He said WHO had also supported the formulation of ethical and evidence-based health policies and strategies, both global and national health and disease specific like malaria, HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, integrated disease surveillance and response, maternal and child health, non-communicable diseases, health promotion and nutrition, guinea worm and buruli ulcer, vaccine preventable diseases and onchocerciasis. Dr Saweka assured Ghana of WHO's continuous technical support in health related issues and the needed assistance to the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service for monitoring and assessing health trends in Ghana.

He acknowledged the sound collaboration of other health partners in Ghana and urged all to help promote primary health care as the best strategy for the universal access to health and make health a central piece to achieve the MDGs and make wealth through health as stated in the paradigm shift of the health policy in Ghana. Dr George Amofa, Deputy-General of the Ghana Health Service, noted that there was little knowledge of climate change and global warming among health workers adding that their ignorance would continue to contribute negatively to the effects.

He said researchers were of the view that climate change had a direct and indirect effect on both humans and animals and cited the recent floods in the north, western and other parts of the country as clear evidence of this phenomenon.

"There is the possibility of looming trends of CSM due to the extreme cases of climate change but we are prepared for it when it comes and all should join hands to fight it," Dr Amofa said.