Southeast Asian countries are highly vulnerable to climate-related hazards such as droughts, cyclones, sea level rise, floods and landslides, according to a published report1 by the International Development Research Center (IDRC)1. In addition, six (6) countries from Asia namely Myanmar, Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand are among the most vulnerable nations in the world according to the Top 10 Global Climate Risk Index2.
Climate-related disasters pose a huge threat to the continuity of service of hospitals; if they are not prepared in terms of infrastructure, operations and procurement, it can translate to service interference at a time when they are highly needed. Thus, becoming climate-smart is a necessity for hospitals and other health facilities in an era of extreme weather events.
More than this, public health is greatly affected by the drastic change in climate conditions. According to a report3 by WHO, climate change is expected to cause 38 000 deaths due to heat exposure in elderly people, 48 000 due to diarrhea, 60 000 due to malaria, and 95 000 due to childhood undernutrition.