Integrating public health into climate change law and policies in the MENA region: Current issues and future directions

Abstract

Climate change is a major public health concern in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region. MENA is recognized as an active region in oil and gas production; this directly leads to increasing levels of ground ozone and particulate matter that affect human health. Other aspects of climate change, with key consequences for public health, are water, food, and vector-borne diseases, food insecurity, mental illness, and allergen-induced diseases. Some of the MENA countries are signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and actively contribute to sustaining a resilient climate that supports health and well-being. Several countries of MENA have submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) within their resources and capacities, many conditional on their economic growth. These INDCs provide a map for mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change. Through different domestic laws and policies, the INDCs introduce several institutional obligations to mitigate the adverse health impacts of climate change. The World Health Organization (WHO) has played an essential role in assessing the impacts of climate change and embracing several regional and domestic projects to tackle the resulting disease outcomes, most prominently witnessed in Malaria, with cholera and other gastrointestinal diseases. Other local initiatives are discussed in this chapter. Despite all of the embraced initiatives to maintain a climate resilient environment in MENA, integrating climate change considerations and policies into public health planning and vice versa, is still hindered across the region. A number of barriers and potential solutions have been discussed in this chapter. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Damilola S. Olawuyi. All rights reserved.