A new review by the World Health Organization has raised concerns about the impact of climate change on Neglected Tropical Diseases, and malaria. Analysing over 42,000 studies, the WHO review noted that there is a critical gap in understanding how rising temperatures and weather pattern shifts will affect these diseases.
To understand how climate change might affect malaria and NTD’s, researchers conducted a massive review of scientific literature published between 2010 and 2023, analysing over 42,000 studies and focusing on 1,543 in detail. From the findings, they discovered that the number of studies reviewed correlated with a country’s disease burden, healthcare quality, and vulnerability to climate change.
While malaria, dengue, chikungunya, and leishmaniasis received significant attention, other NTD’s were understudied.
The WHO review highlighted a critical gap in knowledge and the need for broader research to understand the full impact of climate change on various NTDs. With just 34 per cent of studies reviewed (174 studies) addressing mitigation strategies and 5 per cent (24 studies) looking at adaptation methods, the reviews highlighted the lack of evidence required to protect the gains made against malaria and NTD’s in recent decades.
The Director of WHO’s Global NTD Program, Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall, who led the study said, “The findings presented in this major review highlight the need for more comprehensive, collaborative, and standardized modelling so that we can better understand and predict the effects of climate change on malaria and NTDs, both directly and indirectly. “This important and timely review reveals alarming trends and is a call to urgent action. Malaria transmission is likely to shift both polewards and to higher altitudes, while the mosquito vector responsible for the transmission of dengue and chikungunya is predicted to continue to expand its range. If we are to protect and build upon the hard-won victories of the past two decades, the time to mobilize is now.”
On his part, Chief Strategy Officer of Reaching the Last Mile, Tala Al-Ramahi, said, “The climate crisis has the potential to reverse decades of progress in global health and development. Greater investment in research is urgently needed to support the development of timely and evidence-based interventions, and to allow us to anticipate and mitigate the worst consequences of climate change on human health.”
Reacting, the Director of the WHO’s Global Malaria Program, Dr Daniel Ngamije Madandi noted, “We have recently seen the consequences of extreme weather events on malaria, and they are only predicted to become more commonplace. “The paper provides a clarion call for mitigation and evidence-responsive adaptation to climate change. As the impact of climate change is likely to be disproportionately borne by the poorest people, who are also disproportionately affected by malaria and NTDs, a more equitable, comprehensive, and sustainable response is needed.”
