This explainer by the Institute for Sustainable Empowerment and Justice (ISEJ) details why climate change must be treated as a public health emergency, focusing on the outcomes of the October 2024 Climate and Health Africa Conference (CHAC) held in Harare.
Key Takeaways:
- The Harare Declaration: Endorsed by African health ministers and supported by the WHO, the declaration calls for climate-resilient health systems, African-led research on climate-sensitive diseases, integration of health into climate policy, and community-centered action.
- Impact on Zimbabwean Women: Highlights how climate shocks disproportionately affect women—through heat stress during pregnancy, climate-sensitive diseases like malaria, malnutrition, and disrupted maternal healthcare. When healthcare systems fail, the burden of unpaid care falls disproportionately on women.
- Call to Action for Zimbabwe: ISEJ urges Parliament to embed the Harare Declaration into the Climate Change Management Bill (HB 05, 2025). This includes establishing research and action frameworks that collect age-, sex-, and disability-disaggregated data, map climate-health hotspots, and train health workers for climate-related challenges.
About the Publisher:
The Institute for Sustainable Empowerment and Justice (ISEJ) is a Zimbabwean non-profit working at the intersection of law, gender equality, public health, and climate justice to make complex policies accessible to everyday communities.