Tuvalu's Minister of Health urges leaders to reach an agreement at COP21 that considers health and targets a 1.5 degree Celsius warming limit. This has become a rallying cry of small island states, which are among that countries most immediately threatened by climate change due to rising sea levels. The Minister says the health and survival of Pacific people are already endangered and they cannot wait much longer.
Q: Please share with us a story showing the reality in Tuvalu.
A: Ok, here is one. In Tuvalu, mothers are responsible for bringing up children, managing the money issues, taking care of family member when not well, cooking, cleaning, washing, etc. When children are sick, mothers take care. Because of climate change, there will be more diarrhoea, dengue fever, and other illnesses. Due to El Nino this year, there has been a long drought. Local food production is decreasing due to the salinity of ground water. Because of storm surge caused by Tropical Cyclone Pam in March 2015, added to the sea level rise, community health centre was damaged and not functioning anymore. When a mother brings her dehydrated child with diarrhoea and high fever, she cannot get services from health centre any more. Climate change increases the burden of disease and demands for healthcare services, but at the same time, it destroys our healthcare facilities which are desperately need during the disaster period.
Indeed, this is a common story in our outer islands affected by TC Pam: Nanumaga (100% destroyed), Nanumea (40% damaged), Niutao (40% damaged), Nui (40% damaged).
Q: So, how services are provided in the damaged healthcare facilities during the response and recovery from TC Pam aftermaths? Could you please describe the situation of healthcare facilities?
A: In Tuvalu, there are two nurses (one midwife nurse, the other junior nurse) and one sanitary aid in the community health centre per each outer island. In Nanumaga island, where the community health centre was completely destroyed by TC Pam, the Ministry has been renting a private home for the urgent patients to be examined. Because we cannot keep the patient more than two in this rented house, nurses were visiting the patients’ home. This means that children with diarrhoea were being treated at home. It is a scary situation, because we cannot provide good quality services. We cannot handle an outbreak situation this way.
In other outer islands where health centres were partially damaged, we set up examination and treatment rooms divided by curtains, without compartment. So, there is no good privacy in the healthcare services in those islands.
Q: So, why the global climate change agreement to be adopted by COP21 important to health and wellbeing of Tuvaluan mothers and children?
A: First, COP21 should adopt a legally binding global agreement that will ensure the warming less than 1.5 degree. Current negotiations are talking around 2.0 degree but Pacific Island countries are all united to demand the warming less than 1.5 degree for very survival. We have already been experiencing the impacts of climate change as we speak now, and atoll island countries will be swamped.
Second, I would like to see “human health” considered in the negotiations at COP21. Yes, polar bears are also endangered by melting glaciers and they deserve attention of world leaders. However, our children and their mothers in small island
states of the Pacific should also deserve the same or even more attention of the world leaders and citizens. As much as the extinction of an animal species is important, that of Pacific civilization of humankind is of paramount importance.
Q: What would be your priorities as champion of health impacts of climate change in the Pacific?
A: I believe the character of a leader is determined by her/his action towards the vulnerable people.
In Tuvalu, we need technical and financial assistance through global climate financing to build climate resilience of our health system. Number one priority will be to make healthcare facilities safe and resilient to climate change and natural disasters. Healthcare facilities should have been strong enough to stand TC Pam from the start. So, we will have to build back better. We want to move the healthcare facilities to higher locations (even though it will mean 1 meter higher), to be protected from storm surge or king tides, so that we can cope with the sea level rise in the coming decades. In this context, I am eager to see the new WHO-UNDP project on climate resilience building of health system in Tuvalu, funded by the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) of GEF to start as soon as possible. Today is 9 December 2015, and Tuvalu GEF Focal Point endorsed this project already last December. We have been waiting for the commencement of this project for almost one year. I hope to see the planning activities will start from January 2016. Our people cannot wait much longer.
Related Links
- More information on the Paris Agreement
- WHO's Country Support on Climate Change and Health
- WHO Special Initiative on Climate change and Health in Small Island Developing States