The executive director of the Global Fund to Combat AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Peter Sands, warned on Tuesday (22), in a press conference to the association of correspondents of the United Nations (UN), that climate change tends to cause even more deaths than previously thought. This is because heavy rains and the average increase in temperature can increase the number of cases of infectious diseases.

According to Agence France-Presse, the director pointed out at the event that, in addition to bringing food insecurity leaving people more vulnerable to disease, the hot and humid climate has become a favorable scenario for dengue and malaria to increase their area and degree of incidence.

Climate and infections

Although so far the malaria outbreak has been linked to increased frequency and devastation of tropical storms, floods in Pakistan have helped raise this number.

"Parts of Africa that were not previously affected by the disease are now at risk as temperatures rise and allow mosquitoes to thrive," Sands said. He stated that the population in these areas does not have as much immunity, that is, the risk of mortality is higher.

Another threat cited is the spread of tuberculosis among the growing number of people displaced by climate change worldwide.

"Tuberculosis is a disease that thrives on concentrations of highly stressed people in confinement with inadequate food and shelter. The more we see the displacement of people, the more I think this will translate into favorable conditions for the transmission of the disease", explained the director.

Future threats

When asked if the world was better prepared for the next pandemic than for Covid-19, Sands said yes, but added, "That doesn't mean we're well prepared, we're just not as poorly prepared as we were before the coronavirus."

In poorer regions the danger is even greater, according to the executive, since in these places HIV, tuberculosis and malaria are killing many more people than Covid. "For the people we help in the world's poorest, most marginalized and vulnerable communities, 2022 was a brutal year," he said.

By the end of 2022, the Global Fund will have invested about $5.4 billion to combat these threats, the highest investment to date.

Source: Um só Planeta