HARARE, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday called on fellow Africans to scale up research and surveillance to understand how climate change impacts health, especially the spread of diseases and heat stress.
During the inaugural International Climate and Health Africa Conference in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, Mnangagwa said the research should continue to focus on vulnerable populations, including women, children, and those living with disabilities.
Mnangagwa said the identification of critical climate-health indicators and enhancing surveillance to monitor health systems' capacities to cope with disease outbreaks should be given due priority since they were essential for building climate-resilient health systems.
"Our beloved continent, Africa, is enduring the worst effects of global warming. The land that nourished us for a millennium is now being ravaged by increasingly severe heat, droughts, floods, and cyclones," the president said. "Climate change is not merely an environmental disaster, but a profound public health emergency. As temperatures rise and heat waves stretch longer, we are witnessing the proliferation of heat-related illnesses and deaths."
Mnangagwa said he hoped that the insights gained at the conference would resonate across Africa and shape the continent's contributions to the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference this year.
"While we call for global action, international cooperation, financial support as well as the growing realization of Africa to work towards inclusive and sustainable development, unite us to act now," he said.
The three-day conference, which will end Thursday, was convened to share perspectives and strategies for improving the well-being and dignity of the citizens of Africa, especially in the face of the devastating impacts of climate change.
Researchers and policymakers are expected to work towards developing and exchanging solutions that work best for the continent. ■