Impacts of climate change on human health in the West Africa Sahelian countries: A review

Abstract

Human health is considered worldwide an important resource for the entire population living in a given community. Despite its vital importance, climate change poses many threats to the health system and well-being of people. This paper aimed at reviewiing the impact of climate change on human health in the Sahelian countries. In this study, the data used are secondary data from the existing literature from the West Africa Sahelian countries between 2002 and 2023. The key words employed in this research include climate change and health, climate diseases, climate change and human, health and health impacts. Findings from the research revealed that vecto-borne diseases, water-borne diseases, food diseases, malaria are climate change related diseases that are common in the Sahelian countries. The study reports that the climate change mamifestations such as floods, strong winds, and increased temperatures are some causal factors of human death with common diseases such as malaria. For exemple extreme weather events is responsible for the deaths of 32% of people in Mauritania, 18% in Senegal between 2000 and 2019 and 86% in Niger from 2010 to 2017. The paper concludes that the impact of climate change on human health is linked to an increase in the number and frequency of natural disasters (floods, droughts, wind, etc.) that claim many victims and the prevalence of infectious diseases. Based on these results, the study recommends for the inclusion of climate change policy, project and programmes in the health sector and integrating climate change education into medical school curricula.