A Case Study of Climate Resilient Health System

in Nepal
A Case Study Report Prepared for the Requirement of Partial Fulfillment of EOH 503 for
Master of Science in Environmental and Occupational Health (MSc.EOH)

Submitted to:
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
Faculty of Science, Health and Technology
Nepal Open University
Manbhawan, Lalitpur

Submitted By:
Shristi Chauhan
MSc.EOH First Semester
RollNo:7824312029
Group D 1
Background
• The constitution of Nepal has given its citizen provision to live in a healthy
environment. The sub-article (1) of article (30) has ensured that each person shall have
right to live in a clean and healthy environment. The sub-article (2) of article (30) has
provisioned that the victim of environmental pollution or degradation shall have right to
legally compensated by the polluter.
• Nepal is a signatory to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
and has accepted the Paris Agreement, which was enacted at the UNFCCC's 21st
session.
• The government of Nepal has made various policies related to health sectors to combat
the effect of climate change. The proper implementation of the policies will help for the
promotion of the public health of Nepal.

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Problem statement
• Although Nepal has signed various international treaties related to climate change but
the government has not been able to implement the policies of the treaties in an effective
manner.
• There is still lack of public awareness related to climate change effect on health.
• The government still has not been able to conduct enough training related to climate
change and health on the community level.
• The entomological survey aims to document the vector abundances, distribution and its
association with different geo-ecological and climatic variances is limited to only
Pradesh -1 of Nepal.
• Many people are dying due to extreme weather-related issue, water borne, air pollution
every year.
• There is not proper early warning and surveillance system on climate change.

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Current climate-sensitive health risks in Nepal
The projected effect of climate change on the public health can be summarized as
• Greater risk of injury, disease and death, owing to more intense heat waves, cold waves and
forest fires.
• Increased risk of undernutrition, resulting from diminished food production in resource-poor
regions
• More negative health consequences of lost work capacity and reduced labour productivity in
vulnerable populations
• Increased risk of vector-borne, waterborne and foodborne diseases, especially in mountain
areas, and leading to perennial occurrence in the lowlands
• Increase in cardiorespiratory diseases, owing to higher ambient air pollution and haze in
urban areas, resulting from climate change.
• Increase in mental health problems, owing to extreme climatic events such as droughts,
floods and landslides
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Components of Building climate resilient health system

• Leadership and governance

• Health workforce
• Vulnerability, capacity and adaptation assessment
• Integrated risk monitoring and early warning
• Health and climate research
• Climate resilient and sustainable technologies and infrastructure
• Management of environmental determinants of health
• Climate-informed health programmes
• Emergency preparedness and management
• Climate and health financing

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Conclusion
• The health-sector policies and planning should focus on developing climate-resilient
health systems.
• More study on vector-borne and waterborne diseases, as well as other climate-sensitive
diseases and dangers, such as noncommunicable diseases, is urgently needed.
• There is a need for a more systematic and sustained approach, to make use of these
opportunities, and to continue to make progress in protecting health from climate
change.
• Finally, rather than waiting for new research and policies, existing policies, strategies,
and plans on climate change and health should be prioritized for implementation today.
• Applied in this way, climate resilient health systems can help to promote and safeguard
the public health.

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Recommendations
In order to establish climate resilient health system, following points should be
considered:

• Raising awareness and ensuring policy coherence

• Building technical, organizational and institutional capacity
• Mobilizing resources and supporting implementation
• Monitor Health Status to Identify and Solve Community Health Problems
• Inform, Educate, and Empower People About Health Issues
• Enforce Laws and Regulations That Protect Health and Ensure Safety

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References
1. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 2022. Figure 8.4, Components for Building Climate-Resilient
Health Systems - Injury Prevention and Environmental Health - NCBI Bookshelf.
[online] Available at:
<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK525226/figure/ch8.sec4.fig4/>
[Accessed 12 January 2022].
2. Ministry of Environment, 2010. National Adaptation Programme of Action
(NAPA).
3. Ministry of Environment, 2019. National Climate Change Policy.
4. Who.int. n.d. [online] Available at:
<https://www.who.int/phe/climate/conference_briefing_1_healthresilience_27aug
.pdf> [Accessed 12 January 2022].
5. WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2020. WHO GUIDANCE FOR
CLIMATE-RESILIENT AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE HEALTH
CARE FACILITIES. 8