Manila — As countries prepare for the Conference of Parties (COP) 15 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international organization was aghast to know that no less than President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (PGMA) will be heading the Philippine delegation in Copenhagen on December 7 to 18.
“How can PGMA head the Philippine delegation?”
Executive Director
HCWH - SEA
“How can PGMA head the Philippine delegation?” asked Merci Ferrer, Executive Director of Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia (HCWH). “And how can she negotiate for our future when she in fact is guilty of adding up to the burgeoning problems of climate change by impounding billions of meritorious health allocations?”
In 2008 alone, P2.32 billion health allocations from the General Appropriations Act remain unreleased by the government. Earlier in a petition addressed to PGMA, 1,200 individuals and organizations from Argentina, India, Kenya, other Latin American countries, Mexico, Nepal, South Africa, Uganda, and United States demanded the release of these appropriations.
“Public health issue has been a missing link in this climate change debate. Leaders around the world, for years, talk about the damage to agriculture, infrastructure, food security and economic activities but fail to look at the effect to people’s health,” said Ferrer. “It is only now that we are recognizing the health risks posed by global climate change.”
The Lancet, one of the world’s best-known and most respected general medical journals, reported that climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.
“Unfortunately, PGMA is not one of those enlightened leaders who see the connection as evidenced in the wanton impoundment of budget for both health and the environment.”
Health and Climate
“The connection is very clear”, Ferrer pointed out.
Reports say that the world is the warmest it has been in the last 12,000 years as a result of warming over the past 30 years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts a 1.4 0 C to 5.8 0 C rise in temperature by 2100.
“Global warming causes drought, famine, extreme temperature, floods… in different parts of the globe. We need not look far to see the health risks brought by the typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng,” Ferrer pointed out.
In the Asia-Pacific region, El Nino and La Nina events have affected the occurrence of dengue fever outbreaks. Countless examples show the emergence and recurrence of diseases brought by climate change.
Dhaka, Manila and Jakarta were named by the World Wide Fund for Nature as the Asian cities most vulnerable to climate change.
Children At Risk
Children are again at risk in this climate change issue.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports startling effects to children’s health. According to the report, over 5 million children per year die from illnesses and other conditions caused by the environment in which they live, learn and play. While around 2 million children under five die every year from acute respiratory infections. The infections are aggravated by environment hazards such as indoor air pollution.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said that two thirds of all preventable ill health due to the environment occurs in children.
“Climate change is here and we cannot risk our chance with an unfit delegation head.”
Doctors on Climate Change
Meanwhile, the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP)-Southern Luzon chapter expressed support to the Prescription for Healthy Hospitals, an initiative of HCWH which aims to reduce the health sector’s climate footprint.
PCP is the umbrella organization of internists in the Philippines.