International Collaboration

There is official recognition from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2001), and many other scientists, governments and international bodies that greenhouse gas accumulations in the atmosphere are causing global warming and changing global climate patterns. This global change will affect the environment and the health and well-being of people everywhere.

Not all countries will be affected by global change in the same way. Some will experience the effects from wide-spread thawing of glaciers and permafrost. Others may be subjected to more heat waves, smog events, storms, floods, droughts or other weather-related disasters. Many coastal regions have already been affected by a rise in sea level.

As a result, government health agencies need to identify how climate change may affect the health and well-being of communities in their respective countries. They also need to determine how best to protect the health of their citizens from the effects of such changes. Once the potential impacts have been identified, actions can be taken to protect human health through adaptive strategies and actions. Collaboration and information sharing are key to enabling governments and communities to advance in this understanding and take steps to protect the health of people.

Acute respiratory illness; boy breathing oxygen under the care of a
nurse in a municipal nursery, Fortaleza, Ceara state, Brazil.

International Activities

In collaboration with international experts and the World Health Organization, Health Canada has engaged the international public health community in an effort to understand climate change impacts on health, and to develop tools to assist in the preparation and implementation of adaptive strategies to minimize those impacts.

Elderly woman pumping water; disease control against soil-transmitted parasites, Asia.

The Global Strategy on Climate Change and Health

Health Canada, together with the World Health Organization, has developed a Global Climate Change and Health Strategy to facilitate international collaboration and ensure that appropriate information is provided to governments to help them in their efforts to protect human health.

National Climate Change and Health Impact Assessment Guidelines

National Climate Change and Health Impact Assessment Guidelines are being developed to guide the work of government health agencies in assessing the impacts for different regions within their country and also assess their ability to adapt to these impacts.