Sodiq Ojuroungbe A new review by the World Health Organisation has raised concerns about the impact of climate change on Neglected Tropical Diseases, and malaria. Analysing over 42,000 studies, the WHO review noted that there is a critical gap in understanding how rising temperatures and weather pattern shifts will affect these diseases. To understand how climate change might affect malaria and NTDs, researchers conducted a massive review of scientific literature published between 2010 and 2023, analysing over 42,000 studies and focusing on 1,543 in detail.
From the findings, they discovered that the number of studies reviewed correlated with a country’s disease burden, healthcare quality, and vulnerability to climate change. While malaria, dengue, chikungunya, and leishmaniasis received significant attention, other NTDs were understudied. The WHO review highlighted a critical gap in knowledge and the need for broader research to understand the full impact of climate change on various NTDs.
With just 34 per cent of studies reviewed (174 studies) addressing mitigation strategies and 5 per cent (24 studies) looking at adaptation methods, the reviews highlighted the lack of evidence required to protect the gains made against malaria and NTDs in recent decades. The Director of WHO’s Global NTD Programme, Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall, who led the study said, “The findings presented in this major review highlight the need for more comprehensive, collaborative, and standardised mod.
