There is a need to foster research in Africa that would generate evidence on the nexus between Climate Change and mental health, social cohesion, and nutrition for sustainable development, Dr. Pamela Nkirote, the Executive Director of the African Coalition of Communities Responsive to Climate Change has said.
According to Dr. Nkirote, the shifting weather patterns are already driving food prices up because of reduced crop harvests. This is increasing stress at the family level.
“Many families are struggling to put food on the table. The nexus between high femicides and suicides, violence within families, and climate change could be the hidden piece of the puzzle,” she said.
In 2018, the Kenya police recorded 108 deaths of women through femicide, due to family stress. Dr. Nkirote said although it is not yet official, the majority of depression cases result from individuals who are suddenly rendered poor due to climate-related events like flooding, a wealthy man suddenly made poor from the death of thousands of his livestock due to drought among many other climate-related impacts.
“Husbands whose livelihoods rely on climate-dependent livestock or crop farming often become irritated, violent and suicidal due to loss of confidence in taking care of their families,” said Dr. Nkirote who is also a counseling psychologist and the President, of the International Society of Substance Use Prevention and Treatment in Kenya.
Climate change advocates have long called for evidence-based interventions. “There is a need for development partners to come in strongly to support research that would inform inclusive policies, strategies, and interventions in our African communities,” she said. She added that climate change presents a silent threat to public health and community social cohesion and may get worse as the planet warms.
She opines that communities experience intense and frequent climate-related disasters leading to an increase in poverty and distress. These triggers rise in mental illnesses such as anxiety and mood-related disorders including substance use disorders.
“There is a notable increase in health-related challenges, more so psychological well-being of individuals and communities. To some extent, climate change fuels insecurity which further exacerbates poor mental health status. Climate change may be one of the indirect factors that are contributing to the prevalence of mental disorders,” said Dr Nkirote whose organization has set out to advocate for just climate regimes with the hope to minimize impacts at individual and family levels.
A 2020 report by the Task Force on Mental Health in Kenya ranked Kenya as the fourth most hit country in Africa with the cases of mental health with an estimated 1.9 million people or 4.4% of the population suffering from depression.
At the recently held 27th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) that took place in Sharma El Sheikh, Egypt, experts noted the social impacts of climate change saying that it affects social and environmental determinants of health – clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food, and secure shelter.
This was a build-up from the work by the WHO presented at COP26 held in Glasgow in the UK last year which showed that for every person who experiences physical injury as a result of a natural hazard due to climate change, forty will experience psychological impacts.
In addition, said Dr. Nkirote, it was noted that there are different parameters of climate change that affect health such as extreme heat, natural disasters and variable rainfall patterns, and changes in patterns of disease infection. “Climate change makes many existing diseases and conditions worse, but it may also lead to the development of health challenges,” she said.
The WHO had earlier also noted the increasing concern about the indirect consequences of climate change on mental health. Most notably, many young people report experiencing climate change-related anxiety due to the threat of irreversible ecological damage and a potentially uninhabitable physical environment.
Research on the interplay between climate change and mental health should be a key priority to understand the extent, complexity, and trajectory of climate-associated mental disorders hence informing prevention, treatment, and management. This will inform policy to strengthen the mental health-related infrastructure for sustainable development in contribution to Vision 2030.
Source: African Science News