世界衛生組織：氣候變遷已成人類的最大威脅

Bringing a rise in air and sea temperatures and extreme weather patterns, global warming endangers not only the planet but also threatens human health, top United Nations officials warned on Monday - World Health Day - which marks the founding of the UN World Health Organization on April 7, 1948.

"The core concern is succinctly stated - climate change endangers human health," said Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, WHO.

"The warming of the planet will be gradual," she said, "but the effects of extreme weather events - more storms, floods, droughts and heat waves - will be abrupt and acutely felt."

She noted that human beings are already exposed to the effects of climate-sensitive diseases, including malnutrition, which causes over 3.5 million deaths per year, diarrheal diseases, which kill over 1.8 million people a year, and malaria, which kills almost one million people every year.

"Although climate change is a global phenomenon, its consequences will not be evenly distributed," said Dr. Chan. "In short, climate change can affect problems that are already huge, largely concentrated in the developing world, and difficult to control."

Recent events such as the European heat wave in 2003; Hurricane Katrina, which struck the United States in 2005; and cholera epidemics in Bangladesh are just a few examples of what can be expected in the future.

"These trends and events cannot be attributed solely to climate change but they are the types of challenges we expect to become more frequent and intense with climate changes," Chan said. "They will further strain health resources which, in many regions, are already under severe stress."

To address the health effects of climate change, WHO is coordinating and supporting research and assessment on the most effective measures to protect health, particularly for the most vulnerable such as women and children in developing countries.

WHO is advising member states on the changes they must make to their health systems to protect their peoples, and will work with them in the future to develop effective means of adapting to a changing climate and reducing its effects on human health.

"Nearly 10 million children under age five die every year of largely preventable diseases," said Ann Veneman executive director of the UN Children's Fund, or UNICEF. "Many of the main global killers of children - including malaria and diarrhoea - are sensitive to changes in temperature and rainfall, and could become more common if weather patterns change."

Women and children tend to be most affected by hurricanes and flooding, which climate change experts say will increase in intensity and frequency in coming years. The destruction of homes, schools and health centers resulting from natural disasters reduce services available to families.

"The voices of women and children must be heard and their needs assessed as part of the international response to prospective changes to the environment, and they must have access to the knowledge and tools necessary to protect themselves and their communities," UNICEF said.