Anaemia in a time of climate crisis
Abstract
The world is facing a climate crisis that is jeopardising gains made in health and nutrition security.1 Certain conditions such as anaemia are particularly at risk of reversing course due to its multifactorial cause. Indirect causes of anaemia include the absence of or inadequate access to health-care and nutrition services, inadequate access to water, sanitation, and hygiene, as well as inadequate vector control, while direct causes include nutritional deficiencies, pregnancy, gynecological conditions, as well as communicable (eg, malaria and soil-transmitted helminths) and non-communicable diseases (eg, cancer, obesity, and autoimmune conditions). Together, climate change and climate-related extreme weather events are poised to exacerbate both the direct and indirect causes of anaemia—by affecting the efficiency and functioning of food, health, social protection, and water systems2—and inflate the burden on the 1·92 billion people already affected.3 For example, current models project that climate change and variability might affect the yields and nutrient composition of crops, leaving some crops with reduced iron content.4 Extreme weather events such as heatwaves will also affect anaemia prevalence. One study done in 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa found that with each 1°C increase in annual temperature, there was a 13·8% increase in the prevalence of childhood anaemia.5 Climate change can also disrupt the infrastructure of health systems, which can affect anaemia prevention, management, and control.6
By Jessica Fanzo, Bianca Carducci
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