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Public Health Early Warning System Responses to Extreme Weather Events in Lesotho: Experiences, Lessons and the Future

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Handbook of Climate Change Management

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Abstract

Addressing extreme weather-related health impacts is becoming more urgent with the realization that impacts are already occurring. This chapter examines the mainstreaming of public health EWS responses to extreme weather events in Lesotho’s health sector plans in order to inform protective adaptation strategies and promote resilience. Multiple sources of secondary data were reviewed. Results show that the intensity, frequency, and return period of snowfall, droughts, floods and, windstorms is increasing. Exposures to these extreme weather events have been inextricably linked to increases in climate sensitive diseases such as frost bite, malnutrition, diarrhea and Human Immunodeficiency Virus/AIDS (HIV/AIDS), among others. This trend has not only increased the risk of extreme weather-related mortality and morbidity, especially among the vulnerable rural communities solely dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods, but also exposed deficiencies in public health EWS responses in saving lives, reducing injuries, and limiting environmental damage associated with extreme weather events. While public health EWS responses to extreme weather events are meant to be multidisciplinary and collaborative among meteorological, disaster management and public health agencies, on the ground these efforts are disjointed and ineffective. Means to capacity build and ensure that public health professionals have access to appropriate meteorological information, and use it to manage climate sensitive diseases using appropriate models and disseminate appropriate warning messages to the vulnerable public are needed. This study could inform future efforts to develop guidelines on public health EWS responses to climate and extreme weather events to minimize climate change related infectious disease risks.

Patrick Gwimbi was deceased.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health, National University of Lesotho, Maseru, Lesotho

    Patrick Gwimbi & Ts’aletseng M. Siimane

Authors
  1. Patrick Gwimbi
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  2. Ts’aletseng M. Siimane
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. FTZ-ALS, HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. School of Social Sciences, CHC Higher Education, Carindale, Australia

    Johannes Luetz

  3. Center for Food Security Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Desalegn Ayal

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Gwimbi, P., Siimane, T.M. (2021). Public Health Early Warning System Responses to Extreme Weather Events in Lesotho: Experiences, Lessons and the Future. In: Leal Filho, W., Luetz, J., Ayal, D. (eds) Handbook of Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22759-3_138-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22759-3_138-1

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