Health Threat from Climate Change Outlined in Speech to Canadian Doctors

August 27, 2016 – This week James Orbinski, founding member of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) spoke to a meeting of Canadian doctors in Vancouver, telling them that the health impacts of climate change are significant. Orbinski seen in the picture below, talked about rising rates of infectious disease, about drought and floods, and about mass population displacement and conflict, all consequences of climate change.

“Climate change is a threat that magnifies other threats,” he stated using examples like Darfur in Sudan where disappearing pasture and water sources from prolonged drought produced a war between farmers and herders. Orbinski went on to state that “the number one health issue…is no longer AIDS, it’s drought,” when referring to the 29 million currently on food assistance in Southern Africa.

Orbinski also told his Canadian audience that our country is not exempt from the impacts of climate change stating, “the rate of increase in temperature in Canada is two times higher than the global average.” In particular, the people and wildlife of Northern Canada and coastal regions are at the greatest risk in the coming decades. Orbinski noted that city where he was speaking to Canadian Medical Association (CMA) members, Vancouver, was susceptible to rising sea levels that could make parts of it uninhabitable by century end.

Orbinski didn’t mince his words. He told his audience that humans are adding a billion people to the planet every 13 years and that alone is contributing to massive increases in carbon emissions. That is why he called on doctors to carry the message to the public asking them to be “genuinely courageous on climate change.”

So what are the marching orders for Canadian physicians in addressing the global warming challenge?

According to Dr. Cindy Forbes, CMA President, Canada’s doctors have been active already in calling for action by federal, provincial and territorial governments to address climate change. Representing 83,000 Canadian physicians, the CMA, along with other national medical associations was a signatory to the World Medical Association Declaration of Delhi on Health and Climate Change signed in 2009.

That agreement states that physicians have “an obligation to highlight the health consequences of climate change and to suggest solutions.” That physicians must:

• act as advocates in combating global warming
• be leaders in their communities to help people mitigate climate damage and adapt to it
• provide education and awareness to the public
• strengthen the capacity of national health institutions to combat climate change
• address the gaps in research regarding health and climate change including reporting of diseases and keeping pertinent vital statistics
• collaborate with government and non-government bodies on mitigation and adaptation strategies

Orbinski states, “it’s time for the CMA to step up and step out.” I agree. Until his speech this week did the public even know what physicians were thinking about climate change and the role their association had signed onto as both advocates and activists? The average Canadian didn’t have a clue.

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