WHO warns that extreme weather will lead to extreme disease
Cairo, 7 December 2022 – While responding to multiple concurrent emergencies in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, WHO has simultaneously extended massive support to 5 countries in the Region affected by climate change in 2022 – Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
With environmental and climatic risks responsible for around 23% of the total burden of disease in the Region, “The links between climate change, severe weather events and health are increasingly evident, including drought and floods,” Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said during a recent visit to Sudan. This is one of the 7 countries in the Greater Horn of Africa – along with Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda – affected by severe food insecurity due to drought, a climatic event with devastating consequences on health.