IUHPE

Climate change is a significant and emerging threat to public health. It changes the way we look at promoting health in particular that of vulnerable and disadvantaged populations in low and middle income countries. The evidence that humans are affecting global climate and thus influencing human health, growingly contributes to the global burden of disease. A major concern is that climate change will increasingly impact on the distribution of health and its determinants and inevitably worsen health inequities at the global level making the most vulnerable more vulnerable. Climate change-related health risks are however avoidable through existing programmes/ interventions.

 

There is existing evidence that current accelerated urbanization and globalization processes are linked to drastic changes in the ways of life resulting in increased sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy nutrition habits and tobacco consumption, subsequently deteriorating the health of our populations, urges for inter-sectoral actions, both at the political, civil society and community levels to promote healthy environments, using socially and culturally adapted advocacy strategies and building local capacity to face the challenges of preventing NCDs.

 

Latin America has and continues to experience rapid urbanization, with rising magnitude, pattern of inactivity and other detrimental factors to health. The IUHPE supports intersectoral interventions to address NCDs in low- and middle-income countries. In particular, in Colombia, the IUHPE supported these efforts through an initiative dedicated to bridging the gap between evidence and action through capacity building and advocacy actions to face the chronic disease epidemic in six cities in Colombia.