Health Impacts
Exploring the challenges and vulnerabilities of communities due to climate change.
Climatic phenomena affecting human health have increased exponentially in recent years. Studies indicate that changing weather parameters have promoted outbreaks of infectious and vector-borne diseases. The data collected consistently demonstrates the impact of climate change on health, with alarming evidence underlining the urgency of protecting the most disadvantaged populations, who are most vulnerable to these global challenges. To mitigate the effects of climate change on health, it is essential to focus on the most deprived communities, where poverty increases the risk of developing more severe pathologies.
International researchers such as myself, from the Cape Verdean diaspora and beyond, have collaborated to implement educational and research programs in Cape Verde. The aim is to compile and analyze data, often collected individually, in order to understand the impact of climate change on the health of the population and to influence political decisions. As an island state, Cape Verde is especially vulnerable to these climatic phenomena, and scientific knowledge is crucial to guide prevention and mitigation actions.
The worsening social inequality in our country increases the vulnerability of disadvantaged population groups to diseases such as allergies and infections, which have increased in recent years. The correlation between these pathologies and environmental changes, as well as pollution, demonstrates the need for specialized knowledge that allows for the adoption of innovative solutions capable of preventing and overcoming these situations. The local knowledge available in Cape Verde is not enough; it needs to be complemented with external expertise. This happens all over the world, as we are always faced with specific situations that require different skills, which we have to learn. This process defines science, something that is still a major challenge in Cape Verde.
Mitigating the impact of climate change on health requires a multidisciplinary approach. A clear example is the effect of meteorological factors, such as temperature and humidity, on the emergence of vector-borne diseases. Although these phenomena affect the proliferation of various vectors, such as fleas, ticks and flies, the evidence is clearest for mosquitoes. These vectors have been shown to carry and transmit diseases such as the Dengue virus, even in countries far from the equator. Therefore, certain pathologies can no longer be associated exclusively with tropical regions.
It is crucial to investigate the biological mechanisms that allow mosquitoes to survive in atypical climatic conditions and transmit diseases in previously unfavorable environments. Similarly, it is crucial to understand the ability of these vectors to carry multiple viruses simultaneously. For example, the cross-reaction between the Dengue and Zika viruses in the same mosquito has been demonstrated as a possible cause of a more severe clinical picture, accompanied by complications. This type of research is of great interest both to the laboratory I run at NOVA Medical School, at NOVA University Lisbon, and to Diáspora Mundi.
Diáspora Mundi arose from the identification of Cape Verde’s gaps in scientific knowledge and the ability to fill them through training programs promoted by the many qualified professionals from our diaspora and beyond, who belong to Diáspora Mundi’s vast network. Promoting services that help institutions obtain external funding to implement research projects, collect scientific data and disseminate knowledge are some of the services we provide. Acting as facilitators of communication that is often difficult to establish between public and private, national and international, funding or beneficiary entities, we accelerate scientific progress, materializing concepts such as the transfer of knowledge and the development of human capital.
Adaptation Strategies and Initiatives
Discussion on the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and examples of successful collaboration.
Inter- and multidisciplinary collaboration is essential for tackling wide-ranging issues that require the integration of different types of knowledge. The lack of complementarity in the studies conducted in Cape Verde is a real Achilles heel, as it makes it difficult to substantiate the measures implemented to tackle the country’s challenges. The lack of capacity to define and/or adopt strategies aimed at mitigating certain phenomena is evident, since science should guide public policies, not politics defining the studies to be carried out.
In order to take full advantage of scientific knowledge, it is necessary to create multidisciplinary teams that transcend the financial issues associated with scientific strategies. Unfortunately, the devaluation of this concept means that consultancy projects are mostly assigned to people linked to financial areas, whose participation, although important for outlining strategies for mobilizing and using resources, is not enough. Studying the impact of climate change on health and defining preventive plans needs a multidisciplinary team, where researchers and professionals from different areas work together to establish guidelines that translate into financial results, capable of supporting the production of data by Cape Verdean academic institutions and ensuring the participation of academics at the decision-making table.
The pandemic has shown that global challenges need coordinated and interdisciplinary solutions. However, most studies in Cape Verde remain focused on local problems and are merely observational. This limits the potential for collaboration and the relevance of such research in the wider context of climate change, which affects the health of both Cape Verdeans and neighboring peoples in the sub-region, and vice versa. Diseases do not manifest themselves specifically in one country, especially when transmitted by vectors. Their appearance on other continents arouses the interest of the scientific community, which seeks to investigate the behavior and adaptation of different mosquito species. Therefore, the possibility of academics being part of the discussion table made up of political and institutional decision-makers would have to be guaranteed. However, in Cape Verde, not only is there a certain reluctance to promote this inclusion, but there is also a lack of an objective system for evaluating the impact of the plans and strategies outlined, as well as the measures implemented.
Access to information is still restricted to a limited number of people, those with sufficient education to understand scientific topics and who are able to search for and interpret information online, on institutional websites, or received by email upon request. However, these population segments do not represent the reality in Cape Verde, where many communities do not have access to the internet or, when they do, the cost of the service limits its use to simple, family communications. In addition, there are communities whose level of education does not allow them to understand aspects that influence their quality of life. How can these individuals help prevent and mitigate diseases if they don’t understand the measures implemented or their benefits?
To resolve this issue, it is essential to create a scientific culture that promotes literacy on topics of diverse interest, such as health and the environment, with the aim of better educating communities. This would make it possible to alert farmers, fishermen, shopkeepers and other workers to the implications that climate change could have on their health. A possible starting point would be to include these individuals and young students from these communities in the conferences organized by the relevant authorities in the country. These conferences, usually attended only by directors, managers and coordinators, should also be attended by operatives and young people, often labeled as “the future of the nation”. Young people, whether they are university students or not, need to be among those invited to the debates organized by the institutions on the development of various sectors in Cape Verde. Otherwise, as has been the prevailing practice, speakers will have to ask themselves for whom they are preparing their speeches, who will implement the plans they have defined, how the sustainability of the actions implemented and the knowledge produced will be promoted, and to whom they will pass on the baton. What future will the sector have when they are no longer at the discussion table?
The answers to these questions will make it possible to promote more effective inter- and multidisciplinary collaboration, in favor of the sustainability of the projects implemented and the development of our country.
Inspiration for Listener Involvement
Practical suggestions for supporting public health policies, educating about climate change and health, and adopting healthy lifestyle practices and the role of early warning systems.
I would like to stress that there is no research without investment in science. In order to assess the impact of climate change on health, it is essential to obtain adequate financial support. If Cape Verde wants to do science, a specific budget for this purpose will have to be inserted into the state budget, avoiding the responsibility of not prioritizing research falling on institutions whose budget is already limited in the face of their multiple challenges. When conducted seriously, research has costs. Impact and excellence are paid for and the state cannot demand what it does not offer.
Research allows young people to interact with teachers and other professionals, debating the data presented at conferences and promoting the creation of a critical mass that will benefit the development of science and the quality of education in Cape Verde. The lectures organized in the country, especially when they are related to the subjects taught, should be integrated into the curriculum, allowing academic programming to incorporate more up-to-date knowledge that is not found in textbooks. In Cape Verde, the lack of participation by teachers and students in symposia and debates, even when organized by universities, is still surprising.
The lack of participation is also reflected in the absence of inter- and multidisciplinary research, which is essential for fostering institutional collaboration, training and the acquisition of new skills, as well as human and sector development. Teachers need to be more incisive with their students, motivating them to take an active and participatory role in the issues to be debated. This is because young people could be the spokespeople for the plans and documents drawn up by the country in various sectors, helping the most disadvantaged population to assimilate, interpret and understand the information disseminated, which can directly affect their daily lives.
Students and young professionals need to come together to create tools that allow communities to have equal access to the knowledge available – something that is not currently the case in Cape Verde, where inequality reflects the reality of the majority of the population. These communities have the right to access information, which is currently held by a restricted group of people. However, knowledge belongs to everyone, and everyone has a duty to disseminate it.
The involvement of community leaders in the process of empowering communities is essential, as is the revision of curricula, from elementary school to universities, so that topics related to climate change and its impact on health can be studied in the classroom. These advances are so innovative that they are often not present in textbooks, which reinforces the importance of student participation in conferences and debates organized at national level.
Considering Cape Verde’s ambition to excel in digital transformation, it would be beneficial to promote young people’s commitment to creating tools that can enable visualization of climate phenomena and their effects for a wider audience, including lay people. This would be a way of complementing knowledge and promoting health and environmental literacy, with students interested in collecting and compiling data to mitigate the impact of climate on human well-being. This initiative could also be integrated into research work carried out as part of the completion of academic degrees.
Author
Raffaella Gozzelino,
Founder and Director of Diáspora Mundi, Group Leader at NOVA Medical School Research, Visiting Professor at NOVA University Lisbon and Jean Piaget University in Cape Verde