Transcript Document

The Impact of Climate
Change on Nutritional and
Food Security
Ana Victoria Román, PhD
October, 2009
Regional Mandates through Agreements of
Presidential Summits, Meetings of Health
Ministers and Tri-ministerial Meetings between
Health-Environment-Agriculture
• XIV (1993) y XXII (2002) Summit of Presidents and Chiefs of State
of Central America, which took place in Guatemala and San Jose,
Costa Rica, respectively
“We welcome the regional initiative for Food and Nutritional
Security in Central American countries, driven by the Health
Ministers, and we instruct them to follow-up on this with the
technical and scientific support of the Institute of Central America
and Panama (INCAP) and of the Pan-American Health
Organization (PAHO), with the support of the Secretary General
of SICA.”
Resolution 20, XIV Presidents’ Summit, Guatemala, October 1993.
• Strategic Framework to confront the situation of
food and nutritional insecurity associated with
conditions of drought and climate change. XXII
Presidents’ Summit, 2002
• Regional Program for the Reduction of Vulnerability
and Environmental Degradation, RPRVED,
• Regional Agro-environmental and Health Strategy
RAHS, 2008
• Action Plan to protect Health and the Effects of
Climate Change, PAHO/WHO Directing Council, 2008
• Climate Change Regional Strategy, 2009
• Health Agenda for Central America, 2009
Resolutions of Tri-ministerial Meetings of
Ministers of Health, Agriculture, and
Environment of Central America, June 2004, April
2008
• Request INCAP/PAHO to develop a regional strategy on
food and nutritional security in the context of climate
change.
• To strengthen the capacity of countries in the region in
mitigation and adaptation mechanisms at the national
and local levels to enable them to face the challenges of
variability and climate change.
Continuation
• To increase the effectiveness of early alert systems for
communicable diseases and nutritional status related to
variability and climate change.
• To strengthen the epidemiological surveillance of the
nutritional situation, infectious diseases, waterborne and
foodborne diseases, and diseases transmitted by vectors
related to climate and climate change.
• Advanced systems of geo-referencing that facilitate the
integration of information from the health, agriculture,
and environment sectors.
Central America
•
20 biological reserves and 8% of
the planet’s biodiversity.
•
In the last 25 years, approximately
5000 people from the subregion
die each year as a consequence
extreme climactic events, SICA
2008.
•
The frequency of droughts has
increased by 360%, hurricanes by
525% and floods by 266%, if one
compares the periods of 1971-1975
with 2000-2005, UNDP 2004,
German Watch, Global Climate
Risk Index.
•
50% of the families in vulnerable
areas depend solely on family food
production to satisfy their
nutritional needs.
•
Produces less than 0.5% of the
planet’s GEI emissions.
VULNERABLE GROUPS:
Who and where are they?
Geographic
Areas
Life
Cycle
• Border areas
• Rural areas
• Land not apt for agricultural production,
limited access to water and livelihoods
• Marginal areas in cities
• Boys and girls younger than 36 months
• Fertile women
• Older adults
SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
• Salaried agricultural workers without access to land
Functional
Groups
• Limited or no land possession
• Migrants
• Limited or no access to basic quality services in health,
water, sanitation, education, and agriculture
• Income of less than $ 1.00 US/day
SICA
GROUPS AT RISK: HOW MANY?
37 million Central Americans
100%
26 million poor (70%)
Income less than US $ 2.
10 million
Extremely poor
(26%)
Income less than US $ 1.
World Bank, 2004
Adaptation: The
adjustments that natural or
human systems make in
response to climate stimuli
or their effects, moderating
the danger and taking
advantage of positive
opportunities.
“The state in which all
people enjoy, in an
opportune and
permanent manner,
access to the food that
they need, in the
quantity and quality
necessary for their
adequate consumption
and biological utilization,
guaranteeing them a
wellbeing that
contributes to their
human development.”
Prevalence of Anemia at Pre-School Age
Country
Guatemala1
El Salvador1
Honduras1
Nicaragua2
Costa Rica1
Panamá2
Dominican Republic2
Prevalence (%)
37.5
16.5
33.7
33.4*
26**
22.05***
30.7*
Sources:
1. Diagnostic of the nutritional situation and characterization of food and
nutrition programs directed towards children 6-36 months in Central America
and Panama. Final Report. WFP. 2005.
2. Most recent survey available
Note:
Cut-off Point Hb < 11 g/dL
* Population ages 6 to 59 months
** Preschool population (0 to 6 years)
*** Population ages 12 to 36 months
Problem Tree related to Food-Nutritional Insecurity
HUMAN
SUBDEVELOPMENT
Low Output
Delayed Growth
Weight loss
Learning difficulties
Severe Morbidity
High Mortality
FOOD-NUTRITIONAL
INSECURITY
Inadequate diet in
quality and quantity
Insufficient-unstable
food availability
High external
dependence
Low production
and output
Low acquisitive
capacity
Low or no
revenue
Elevated IPC of
goods and services
High vulnerability
to infections
Inadequate
Food Behavior
Deficient
food
education
Inadequate
Food
Culture
Inadequate
internal trade
SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, POLITICAL,
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT
Insufficient
sanitary conditions
Limited
Sanitation
Infrastructure
Limited access
To health
services
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL
INSECURITY AND HUMAN INSECURITY
Environmental
Insecurity
Human
Insecurity