• Communications Strategy – Disseminate knowledge of climate impacts to the health

community and the public

– (Physicians, Public Health Departments, General Public)

• Develop and coordinate multi-agency organizational structures to address climate change and health˜ Improve Institutional Adaptive Capacity

– Encourage more proactive planning for climate change (in an already overextended health care system!)

• Regional Scale Climate Modelling

Opportunities to Improve Adaptive Capacity

Goal: Help Canadians cope with the effects of climate change on

their health

•facilitate knowledge development on climate change and health impacts

•use the knowledge to adapt public health policies to protect public health

•examine the health benefits and costs of mitigation technology measures (e.g., emissions trading, sealed homes)

CCHO acts as the Health Node for C-CIARN

Climate Change and Health Office

CANADA'S HEALTH IMPACTS FROM CLIMATE CHANGE AND VARIABILITY

- Cold and heat related illnesses- Respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses- Increased occupational health risks

- Damaged public health infrastructure- Injuries and illnesses- Social and mental health stress due to disasters- Occupational health hazards- Preparedness and population displacement

- Changed exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollutants and allergens - Asthma and other respiratory diseases- Heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases - Cancer

- Enteric diseases and contaminants

- Changed patterns of diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and other pathogens carried by mosquitos, ticks and other vectors

- Skin damage and skin cancer- Cataracts- Disturbed immune function

- Seniors- Children- Poor health- Low income and homeless- Traditional populations- Disabled- Immigrant populations

- Changed determinants of health & well-being - Global burden of disease- Vulnerability of community economies- Health and social co-benefits and risks of GHG reduction technologies

Temperature-related morbidity and mortality

Health effects of extreme weather events

Air pollution-related health effects

Water- and food-borne contamination

Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases

Health effects of stratospheric ozone depletion

Population vulnerabilities in rural and urban communities

Health and socio-economic impacts on community health & well-being

Health Concerns Examples of Health Vulnerabilities

Institute of Population Health – Expert Panel Report

Climate change poses significant health risks, now and in the future

Climate change will place greater demands on the social infrastructure supporting public health and well-being

The health and social impacts will result in significant costs to Canadian society, including increased health care costs, loss of productivity, and damages to the well-being of Canadians

Impacts and capacity to respond will vary by region

Models for projecting the direct health effects of climate change require further development in order to provide quantitative estimates of the magnitude of the impacts

Costs to Society of Climate Variability

•1998 Ice Storm – 600 000 people evacuated, 28 deaths, 945 injuries, $7 billion in damages

•1997 Red River Flood – 25 000 people evacuated, $815 million in damages

•From 1991 - 2001, natural disasters cost Canadian governments over $13 billion to repair infrastructure and properties after natural disasters

•Contamination of drinking water and recreational waters costs Canadian communities approximately $300 million annually – climate change is expected to impact on the quality of drinking water

Public Health Implications in Local Communities

- food security and nutrition

- water quality/air quality

- disease monitoring and surveillance

- disaster preparedness and relief

- housing and shelter

- education and awareness (sun protection)

- healthy child development

- emergency services (community health centres)

- mental health

What can be done to protect public health in a changing

climate?

•Mitigate – reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that

cause climate change and variability (I.e., Kyoto Protocol

is first step)

•Build Knowledge – be informed of health impacts of

climate change and relevance to public health programs

•Plan and Adapt – adjust public health policies to account

for climate changes and minimize the impact on health

The Need for a Public Health Response

What is Needed?

Knowledge need to understand the likely impacts of climate change on health and the effectiveness of existing adaptation strategies

Awareness need to develop awareness of the threats from climate change and the need for action Action need to begin planning and then implementing

effective adaptation strategies

Integration Bring health perspective to other municipal activities (e.g., transportation, urban

planning, greencover, social services, affordable housing, agriculture, etc.)

The Public Health Response

Adaptation in Action

Linking Weather to Health in the U.K.:

•Collaboration between the UK Meteorological Office and the National Health Services to use weather and climate data to help predict fluctuations in workload for health service providers

•Forecasts give twice weekly projected emergency admissions by broad diagnoses and age group

•Forecasts have had up to an 80% success rate, and allow hospitals to appropriately schedule staff hours and elective surgeries

Civil Security in Quebec:

•Municipal emergency response plans developed to meet the basic needs of residents during natural disasters

•National emergency preparedness plan integrates resources of firefighters, officers, Met Office, OCIPEP, Red Cross, Hydro-Quebec

Public health communities in Canada need information on how climate change will affect health, their capacity to adapt and how best to adapt Our plan:

•Evaluating current public health activities related to climate change

•Developing future scenarios of climate change-related health impacts

•Compiling best practices for adapting to climate change across Canada

Meeting Public Health Needs

Purpose: assist users in understanding health issues related to climate change and in communicating the issues to colleagues and decision-makers

•Toolkit will be provided to Medical Officers of Health, Directors of Public Health, key public health organizations

•Toolkit has 3 major sections (1) Understanding the Impacts (2) Public Health Response (3) Building Awareness

Status: Final version expected Spring 2003

Information Toolkit

•Collaboration between C-CIARN and public health sector

•Developing case studies and assessing capacity to adapt

•CCHO – “One Stop Information Resource for Health”

•CCHO website launch February, 2003:

•Funding sources for climate change science and policy research

•Potential adaptation measures and case studies

•Latest scientific research findings

•Bibliography of public health adaptation literature

climatinfo@hc-sc.gc.ca

www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cc

(613) 954-0161

Next Steps

Annex 1: Health Issue Research Networks

Health Concerns Organization

Health effects of extreme weather events

Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction http://www.iclr.org

Air pollution-related health effects New Brunswick Lung Associationhttp://www.nb.lung.ca/home.html

Food and water-borne contamination Health Canada’s Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Controlhttp://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pphb-dgspsp/new_e.html

Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases Health Canada’s Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (web address as above)

Population vulnerability in communities

Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l’Université (Québec)http://www.chuq.qc.ca/oms

Socio-economic impacts on community health and well-being

International Institute For Sustainable Developmenthttp://www.iisd.org/climate/

Reduce the stress imposed by climate change especially on vulnerable individuals

Reduce the stressors that contribute to the cumulative impact of climate change

Contribute to efforts that will minimize climate change

www.c-ciarn-ontario.ca

Local Action in Communities: