Assessment of the Health Impacts of Climate Change in Kiribati

McIver, Lachlan; Woodward, Alistair; Davies, Seren; Tibwe, Tebikau; Iddings, Steven

doi:10.3390/ijerph110505224

Cited by 34 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 59 publications

(67 reference statements)

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“…These included highly focused, largely quantitative assessments in the Marshall Islands and FSM, as distinct from a more deliberative, qualitative process employed in Nauru, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, where a modified environmental health impact assessment approach was employed (Spickett and Katscherian 2014; Spickett et al 2013). In Kiribati, a mixed-methods, “middle way” approach proved effective in combining a review and analysis of the available data with a pragmatic process of inter-agency collaboration and stakeholder engagement, which has contributed to Kiribati’s NCCHAP being among the first to undergo government ratification and implementation (McIver et al 2014). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Performing these analyses was possible only in countries with adequate data (in terms of quality and quantity) and available technical support. The sophistication of the modeling undertaken ranged from simple reviews of disease burdens and weather patterns in Kiribati (McIver et al 2014) to Poisson regression models in FSM (McIver et al 2015a) and similar techniques, combined with spatial modeling, for multiple climate-sensitive diseases in Fiji (McIver et al 2012). The results of these country-specific analyses have not been included in this paper, which instead provides a more general, regional overview.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Health Impacts of Climate Change in Pacific Island Countries: A Regional Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptation Priorities

McIver

Kim²,

Woodward³

et al. 2016

Environ Health Perspect

Self Cite

174

122

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Background:Between 2010 and 2012, the World Health Organization Division of Pacific Technical Support led a regional climate change and health vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning project, in collaboration with health sector partners, in 13 Pacific island countries—Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.Objective:We assessed the vulnerabilities of Pacific island countries to the health impacts of climate change and planned adaptation strategies to minimize such threats to health.Methods:This assessment involved a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques. The former included descriptive epidemiology, time series analyses, Poisson regression, and spatial modeling of climate and climate-sensitive disease data, in the few instances where this was possible; the latter included wide stakeholder consultations, iterative consensus building, and expert opinion. Vulnerabilities were ranked using a “likelihood versus impact” matrix, and adaptation strategies were prioritized and planned accordingly.Results:The highest-priority climate-sensitive health risks in Pacific island countries included trauma from extreme weather events, heat-related illnesses, compromised safety and security of water and food, vector-borne diseases, zoonoses, respiratory illnesses, psychosocial ill-health, non-communicable diseases, population pressures, and health system deficiencies. Adaptation strategies relating to these climate change and health risks could be clustered according to categories common to many countries in the Pacific region.Conclusion:Pacific island countries are among the most vulnerable in the world to the health impacts of climate change. This vulnerability is a function of their unique geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics combined with their exposure to changing weather patterns associated with climate change, the health risks entailed, and the limited capacity of the countries to manage and adapt in the face of such risks.Citation:McIver L, Kim R, Woodward A, Hales S, Spickett J, Katscherian D, Hashizume M, Honda Y, Kim H, Iddings S, Naicker J, Bambrick H, McMichael AJ, Ebi KL. 2016. Health impacts of climate change in Pacific island countries: a regional assessment of vulnerabilities and adaptation priorities. Environ Health Perspect 124:1707–1714; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509756

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Impacts of Climate Change in Pacific Island Countries: A Regional Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptation Priorities

McIver

Kim²,

Woodward³

et al. 2016

Environ Health Perspect

Self Cite

174

122

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recent reports on the region address the potential health impacts through modeling, but very few studies have looked at the actual human impacts that follow an extreme weather event. [9][10][11][12][13] This paper describes the direct and indirect health impacts that followed a deadly flash flood event in an urban Pacific Island city, Honiara, Solomon Islands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining Population Health Vulnerability Following an Extreme Weather Event in an Urban Pacific Island Environment: Honiara, Solomon Islands

Natuzzi

Joshua²,

Shortus

et al. 2016

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Abstract. Extreme weather events are common and increasing in intensity in the southwestern Pacific region. Health impacts from cyclones and tropical storms cause acute injuries and infectious disease outbreaks. Defining population vulnerability to extreme weather events by examining a recent flood in Honiara, Solomon Islands, can help stakeholders and policymakers adapt development to reduce future threats. The acute and subacute health impacts following the April 2014 floods were defined using data obtained from hospitals and clinics, the Ministry of Health and in-country World Health Organization office in Honiara. Geographical information system (GIS) was used to assess morbidity and mortality, and vulnerability of the health system infrastructure and households in Honiara. The April flash floods were responsible for 21 acute deaths, 33 injuries, and a diarrhea outbreak that affected 8,584 people with 10 pediatric deaths. A GIS vulnerability assessment of the location of the health system infrastructure and households relative to rivers and the coastline identified 75% of the health infrastructure and over 29% of Honiara's population as vulnerable to future hydrological events. Honiara, Solomon Islands, is a rapidly growing, highly vulnerable urban Pacific Island environment. Evaluation of the mortality and morbidity from the April 2014 floods as well as the infectious disease outbreaks that followed allows public health specialists and policy makers to understand the health system and populations vulnerability to future shocks. Understanding the negative impacts natural disaster have on people living in urban Pacific environments will help the government as well as development partners in crafting resilient adaptation development.

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“…People who will be learning climate change and health at TVET institution to become climate change officers, community liaison officers, project officers, national disaster management advisors and/or climate change planning and development officers, will most likely be more competent to live a sustainable and resilient life than those with an ad hoc adaptation skill. This can be applied to those who have participated in any projects regarding climate change impacts and adaptation strategies to coastal communities, since people will tend to have better solutions, and know how to deal with their problems better than those who do not learn about impacts of climate change on health and health resilience and adaptation [12, 13, 23, 36–40].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using vocational education to provide development solutions in the Pacific: An emphasis on climate change and health

Havea

Siga²,

Rabuatoka³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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This article reports on the results of the EU PacTVET project, which explored the use of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to provide a better understanding on the development solution for the impact of climate change on human health in the region. It describes the findings of a 2014-2018 project on the use of vocational education to provide development solutions in the Pacific with an emphasis on climate change and health. An exploratory design was used to investigate how vocational education developed solutions for climate change and health in the 15 Pacific – African Caribbean and Pacific (P-ACP) countries: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Information collected via personal communication with relevant stakeholders, qualitative interviews, documents review, and survey (n=48) of youths and young women in Fiji. Data analysis was performed using thematic analytical strategy and frequency analysis. The study found that vocational education plays a significant role in building the capacity of people to become more sustainable and resilient in their life now and in the future. Also, getting an accredited qualification on health resilience and/or job in the health sector may help them to respond effectively and efficiently in the event of climate change and/or disasters caused by natural hazards. The same factors were explored quantitatively using descriptive analytical strategy, and concluded TVET education, to have a positive influence on climate change and health. As a result, vocational education could provide development solutions for health adaptation in the Pacific. These results indicate global actions for vocational education, that would perfect the course of resilience for these 15 P-ACP in the Pacific and alike in the U.S.

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Assessment of the Health Impacts of Climate Change in Kiribati

Cited by 34 publications

References 59 publications

Health Impacts of Climate Change in Pacific Island Countries: A Regional Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptation Priorities

Health Impacts of Climate Change in Pacific Island Countries: A Regional Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptation Priorities

Defining Population Health Vulnerability Following an Extreme Weather Event in an Urban Pacific Island Environment: Honiara, Solomon Islands

Using vocational education to provide development solutions in the Pacific: An emphasis on climate change and health

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