Publication: Malawi - Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment
Loading...
Published
2024-07-10
ISSN
Date
2024-07-10
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Malawi faces significant climate-related challenges that directly and indirectly impact health. Coupled with human-made health stressors, climate change can exacerbate the existing health burdens while creating new health risks. Changes in the temperature and precipitation patterns affect the geographic range and burden of a variety of climate-sensitive health risks while impacting the functioning and capacity of Malawi’s health system. Climate change-related challenges that increase Malawi’s vulnerability to poor health outcomes include a wide range of climate hazards, such as extreme temperature and humidity conditions, potential changes to precipitation patterns, extreme precipitation events, seasonal aridity, droughts, and cyclones. The country is affected by these climate hazards due to its geographical position; a strong dependency on rainfed agriculture, which is susceptible to regular climatic shocks; ongoing population growth; chronic and widespread malnutrition; as well as the high prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS. Considering Malawi’s high exposure and vulnerability to climate change, the World Bank, through the Health Climate and Environment Program (HCEP), is conducting a Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment (CHVA). The objective of this CHVA is to assist decision-makers with planning effective adaptation measures to address climate-related health risks.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2024. Malawi - Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/41847 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Cambodia - Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-07-10)Cambodia is highly exposed and vulnerable to climate change, which has significant direct and indirect impacts on human health. Climate-related hazards - such as heavy rainfall, flooding, landslides, sea-level rises, extreme heat, droughts, wildfires, and storms - affect agricultural productivity significantly, with tremendous implications on food security and nutrition. They also lead to increased waterborne disease (WBD) outbreaks and the transmission of vector-borne diseases (VBDs) in Cambodia. Moreover, flooding, strong winds, and extreme heat cause damage to the health infrastructure, medical equipment, and supplies in the country. The increasing burden of climate-sensitive diseases, coupled with the impacts on the health infrastructure, is putting pressure on the already fragile health system in the country, thereby affecting adaptive capacity and increasing health inequalities in Cambodia. The objective of this Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment (CHVA) is to assist decision-makers with planning effective adaptation measures to deal with climate-related health risks.Publication Ethiopia - Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-07-10)Ethiopia faces significant climate-related challenges that will directly influence population health outcomes. Climate change, coupled with human-induced health stressors, exacerbates existing health burdens, and creates new health risks. Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns affect the country and burden a variety of climate-sensitive health risks while simultaneously impacting the functioning and capacity of Ethiopia’s health system. Challenges that increase Ethiopia’s vulnerability to adverse health outcomes associated with climate change include the wide range of climate hazards that affect the country due to its strong dependency on rainfed agriculture, which is susceptible to regular climatic shocks, ongoing population growth, and chronic and widespread undernutrition. The objective of this Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment (CHVA) is to synthesize current research evidence and review relevant government documents to assist decision makers with planning effective adaptation measures to address climate-related health risks.Publication Madagascar - Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-07-09)Madagascar’s location and distinctive topography makes it vulnerable to climate-related hazards, such as cyclones, floods, droughts, landslides, and sea-level rise (SLR). Current and projected changes in climate patterns increase the likelihood of health risks that are sensitive to temperature and precipitation changes. This Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment (CHVA) has been prepared to contribute to developing and implementing adaptation and mitigation measures that address climate-related health challenges. It aims to assist decision-makers by identifying the climate hazards, the health risks, and the adaptive capacity of the health system, as well as formulating recommendations to strengthen the health system’s resiliency to climate change.Publication Djibouti - Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-07-10)Djibouti is highly vulnerable to climate change, which exerts immense impacts on human health, the environment, and the national economy. Climate change, combined with natural and human-induced health stressors, aggravates existing health burdens while simultaneously creating new health risks. Increasing temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, and severe climate-related hazards, which influence the geographic range and burden of a variety of climate-sensitive health risks, are affecting human health in multiple ways. They include impacts on vector-borne diseases (VBDs), waterborne diseases (WBDs), health-related mortality and morbidity, air quality risks, direct injuries and mortalities, along with mental health and well-being risks. These climate-related health risks and hazards are putting more pressure on Djibouti’s already fragile health system, further undermining its adaptive capacity and resilience. The objective of this Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment (CHVA) is to identify climate vulnerabilities and risks as well as adaptation gaps, along with providing recommendations to assist policy makers and practitioners with planning effective adaptation measures to deal with climate-related health risks.Publication Pakistan - Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-07-10)Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change. Extensive geographical diversity and exposure to a wide range of climate-related hazards, a strong dependency on agriculture and water resources, high rates of multidimensional poverty, as well as a sizable and expanding population, independently and collectively contribute to climate change-related vulnerabilities across the country. Climate change can have profound effects on health outcomes in Pakistan - either by exacerbating the country’s existing health burdens or by creating new health risks. The objective of this Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment (CHVA) is to assist decision-makers in Pakistan with planning effective adaptation measures to mitigate climate-related health risks. To do so, the characteristics of the climatology of Pakistan are first described, with a focus on the observed and projected climate exposures that are relevant to health, as well as key climate-related hazards. Then climate-related health risks, namely heat-related risks, vector-borne disease (VBD) risks, waterborne disease (WBDs) risks, and risks to nutrition are examined in light of projected climate variability and change, including identifying vulnerable populations most at risk, where possible. The final step assesses the adaptive capacity of the health system in Pakistan to manage current and future climate-related health risks. This assessment is used to inform a series of recommendations that are aimed at reducing climate-related health vulnerability and building climate resilience in Pakistan’s health sector.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Global Economic Prospects, January 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16)Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.Publication Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-15)The Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report 2024 is the latest edition of the series formerly known as Poverty and Shared Prosperity. The report emphasizes that reducing poverty and increasing shared prosperity must be achieved in ways that do not come at unacceptably high costs to the environment. The current “polycrisis”—where the multiple crises of slow economic growth, increased fragility, climate risks, and heightened uncertainty have come together at the same time—makes national development strategies and international cooperation difficult. Offering the first post-Coronavirus (COVID)-19 pandemic assessment of global progress on this interlinked agenda, the report finds that global poverty reduction has resumed but at a pace slower than before the COVID-19 crisis. Nearly 700 million people worldwide live in extreme poverty with less than US$2.15 per person per day. Progress has essentially plateaued amid lower economic growth and the impacts of COVID-19 and other crises. Today, extreme poverty is concentrated mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa and fragile settings. At a higher standard more typical of upper-middle-income countries—US$6.85 per person per day—almost one-half of the world is living in poverty. The report also provides evidence that the number of countries that have high levels of income inequality has declined considerably during the past two decades, but the pace of improvements in shared prosperity has slowed, and that inequality remains high in Latin America and the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa. Worldwide, people’s incomes today would need to increase fivefold on average to reach a minimum prosperity threshold of US$25 per person per day. Where there has been progress in poverty reduction and shared prosperity, there is evidence of an increasing ability of countries to manage natural hazards, but climate risks are significantly higher in the poorest settings. Nearly one in five people globally is at risk of experiencing welfare losses due to an extreme weather event from which they will struggle to recover. The interconnected issues of climate change and poverty call for a united and inclusive effort from the global community. Development cooperation stakeholders—from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to communities and citizens acting locally in every corner of the globe—hold pivotal roles in promoting fair and sustainable transitions. By emphasizing strategies that yield multiple benefits and diligently monitoring and addressing trade-offs, we can strive toward a future that is prosperous, equitable, and resilient.Publication Commodity Markets Outlook, April 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-29)Commodity prices are set to fall sharply this year, by about 12 percent overall, as weakening global economic growth weighs on demand. In 2026, commodity prices are projected to reach a six-year low. Oil prices are expected to exert substantial downward pressure on the aggregate commodity index in 2025, as a marked slowdown in global oil consumption coincides with expanding supply. The anticipated commodity price softening is broad-based, however, with more than half of the commodities in the forecast set to decrease this year, many by more than 10 percent. The latest shocks to hit commodity markets extend a so far tumultuous decade, marked by the highest level of commodity price volatility in at least half a century. Between 2020 and 2024, commodity price swings were frequent and sharp, with knock-on consequences for economic activity and inflation. In the next two years, commodity prices are expected to put downward pressure on global inflation. Risks to the commodity price projections are tilted to the downside. A sharper-than-expected slowdown in global growth—driven by worsening trade relations or a prolonged tightening of financial conditions—could further depress commodity demand, especially for industrial products. In addition, if OPEC+ fully unwinds its voluntary supply cuts, oil production will far exceed projected consumption. There are also important upside risks to commodity prices—for instance, if geopolitical tensions worsen, threatening oil and gas supplies, or if extreme weather events lead to agricultural and energy price spikes.Publication Business Ready 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03)Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-11)After several years of negative shocks, global growth is expected to hold steady in 2024 and then edge up in the next couple of years, in part aided by cautious monetary policy easing as inflation gradually declines. However, economic prospects are envisaged to remain tepid, especially in the most vulnerable countries. Risks to the outlook, while more balanced, are still tilted to the downside, including the possibility of escalating geopolitical tensions, further trade fragmentation, and higher-for-longer interest rates. Natural disasters related to climate change could also hinder activity. Subdued growth prospects across many emerging market and developing economies and continued risks underscore the need for decisive policy action at the global and national levels. Global Economic Prospects is a World Bank Group Flagship Report that examines global economic developments and prospects, with a special focus on emerging market and developing economies, on a semiannual basis (in January and June). Each edition includes analytical pieces on topical policy challenges faced by these economies.