The Health Impact of Extreme Weather Events in Sub-Saharan Africa

Extreme weather events are known to have serious consequences for human health and are predicted to increase in frequency as a result of climate change. Africa is one of the regions that risks being most seriously affected. This paper quantifies the impact of extreme rainfall and temperature events on the incidence of diarrhea, malnutrition and mortality in young children in Sub-Saharan Africa. The panel data set is constructed from Demographic and Health Surveys for 108 regions from 19 Sub-Saharan African countries between 1992 and 2001 and climate data from the Africa Rainfall and Temperature Evaluation System from 1980 to 2001. The results show that both excess rainfall and extreme temperatures significantly raise the incidence of diarrhea and weight-for-height malnutrition among children under the age of three, but have little impact on the long-term health indicators, including height-for-age malnutrition and the under-five mortality rate. The authors use the results to simulate the additional health cost as a proportion of gross domestic product caused by increased climate variability. The projected health cost of increased diarrhea attributable to climate change in 2020 is in the range of 0.2 to 0.5 percent of gross domestic product in Africa.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Wang, Limin, Kanji, Shireen, Bandyopadhyay, Sushenjit
Language:	English
Published:	2009-06-01
Subjects:	ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES, ACCESS TO TREATMENT, AGED, AGING, AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, ANTENATAL CARE, ARID ZONE, ASCARIASIS, BS, BULLETIN, BURDEN OF DISEASE, CASES OF DIARRHEA, CHILD DEATH, CHILD DEATHS, CHILD DEVELOPMENT, CHILD HEALTH, CHILD MORTALITY, CHILD MORTALITY RATES, CHILD SURVIVAL, CHOLERA, CLIMATE, CLIMATE CHANGE, CLIMATE CHANGES, CLIMATE EFFECTS, CLIMATE MODELS, CLIMATE VARIABILITY, CLIMATE VARIABLES, CLIMATE VARIATION, CLIMATE ZONES, CLIMATIC CHANGE, CLIMATIC REGIONS, CLIMATIC ZONES, CLINICS, CULTURAL CHANGE, DANGERS, DENGUE, DENGUE FEVER, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DIARRHEA, DIARRHEA CASES, DIARRHEAL DISEASES, DIARRHOEA, DISABILITY, DISEASE OUTBREAK, DISEASE OUTBREAKS, DISEASES, DRACUNCULIASIS, DRINKING WATER, DROUGHT, EARLY CHILDHOOD, EARLY YEARS, ELECTRICITY, ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, EPIDEMIOLOGY, EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS, FEMALE EDUCATION, FEMALES, FLOODS, FOOD POISONING, GDP, GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE, GLOBAL WARMING, GREENHOUSE GAS, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, GRID, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, GROUNDWATER, HAZARDS, HEALTH BURDEN, HEALTH CARE, HEALTH CONSEQUENCES, HEALTH EFFECTS, HEALTH IMPACT, HEALTH INDICATORS, HEALTH INTERVENTIONS, HEALTH OUTCOMES, HEALTH POLICY, HEALTH RISKS, HEALTH SERVICES, HEALTH SURVEYS, HEALTHY LIFE, HEAT WAVES, HOOKWORM, HOOKWORM INFECTION, HOSPITAL, HOUSEHOLD LEVEL, HUMAN BIOLOGY, HUMAN HEALTH, HYDROLOGY, ILLNESS, IMPACT ON HEALTH, IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH, INFANT, INFANT MORTALITY, INFANT MORTALITY RATES, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, IPCC, ISOLATION, JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, LATRINES, LOCAL POPULATION, MALARIA, MALARIA EPIDEMICS, MALARIA TRANSMISSION, MALNUTRITION, MALNUTRITION AMONG CHILDREN, MONSOON, MORBIDITY, MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY, MORTALITY, MORTALITY DECLINE, MORTALITY RATE, NATIONAL LEVEL, NATURE OF HEALTH, NEGOTIATIONS, NUMBER OF PEOPLE, NUTRITION, NUTRITIONAL STATUS, PATHOGENS, POLICY MAKERS, POLICY RESEARCH, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, POOR HOUSEHOLDS, POPULATION AGE STRUCTURE, POPULATION CHANGE, POPULATION DIVISION, POPULATION GROWTH RATE, POPULATION PROJECTIONS, POPULATION STUDIES, PRECIPITATION, PRECIPITATION EVENTS, PREVALENCE, PROGRESS, PUBLIC HEALTH, PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY, PURCHASING POWER, PURCHASING POWER PARITY, RAIN, RAINFALL, RAINFOREST, RAPID POPULATION GROWTH, REPRODUCTIVE AGE, RISK FACTORS, RURAL AREAS, SAFE WATER, SAFETY NETS, SANITATION, SANITATION FACILITIES, SCHISTOSOMIASIS, SOCIAL AFFAIRS, SOCIAL SCIENCE, SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, SOCIOECONOMIC VARIABLES, STD, STORMS, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, TEMPERATURE, TEMPERATURE DATA, TRACHOMA, TRANSPORTATION, TREATMENT, TROPICAL MEDICINE, URBANIZATION, VACCINATION, VIBRIO, VICIOUS CYCLE, VICTIMS, VULNERABILITY, VULNERABLE GROUPS, WATER CONTAMINATION, WATER LEVELS, WATERBORNE DISEASE, WEATHER, WEATHER PATTERNS, WEATHER VARIABILITY, WET SEASON, WOMAN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, WORLD POPULATION, YOUNG CHILDREN,
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20090629132300 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/4171
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