Technical Report > Policy Brief
Baxter LM, Cowan K, Devine C, Guevara M, Kalub D, et al.
2022 October 27
As an independent international medical humanitarian organisation responding to health crises in more than 70 countries, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is seeing first-hand the suffering caused or exacerbated by climate change and environmental degradation, most often experienced by the most vulnerable people. We are witnessing how climate change directly threatens health – for example, through death and injury due to extreme weather – and how climate change impacts health indirectly, through food insecurity and shifting patterns of climate-sensitive infectious diseases.
Recognising the role of the climate crisis in amplifying humanitarian needs, MSF is adapting its operations to be more responsive to the populations it serves while also facing up to the challenges of measuring and reducing its own environmental footprint.
Recognising the role of the climate crisis in amplifying humanitarian needs, MSF is adapting its operations to be more responsive to the populations it serves while also facing up to the challenges of measuring and reducing its own environmental footprint.
Journal Article > CommentaryFull Text
Lancet Global Health. 2024 July 1; Volume S2214-109X (Issue 24); 00319-X.; DOI:10.1016/S2214-109X(24)00319-X
Naim C, Pokorny J, Uyen A, Shortall C, Farra A, et al.
Lancet Global Health. 2024 July 1; Volume S2214-109X (Issue 24); 00319-X.; DOI:10.1016/S2214-109X(24)00319-X
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
PLOS Clim. 2024 March 6; Volume 3 (Issue 3); e0000243.; DOI:10.1371/journal.pclm.0000243
McIver L, Beavon E, Malm A, Awad A, Uyen A, et al.
PLOS Clim. 2024 March 6; Volume 3 (Issue 3); e0000243.; DOI:10.1371/journal.pclm.0000243
This mixed-methods study focuses on the evidence of the health impacts of climate change on populations affected by humanitarian crises, presented from the perspective of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)–the world’s largest emergency humanitarian medical organisation. The Sixth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was used as the basis of a narrative review, with evidence gaps highlighted and additional literature identified relevant to climate-sensitive diseases and health problems under-reported in–or absent from–the latest IPCC report. An internal survey of MSF headquarters staff was also undertaken to evaluate the perceived frequency and severity of such problems in settings where MSF works. The findings of the survey demonstrate some discrepancies between the health problems that appear most prominently in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report and those that are most relevant to humanitarian settings. These findings should be used to guide the direction of future research, evidence-based adaptations and mitigation efforts to avoid the worst impacts of climate change on the health of the world’s most vulnerable populations.