World Health Organization

Protecting Health from Climate Change: Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment World Health Organization

Increasing temperatures, sea-level rises, changes in precipitation patterns and extreme events are expected to increase a range of health risks, from the direct effects of heat-waves, floods and storms, to more suitable conditions for the transmission of important infectious diseases, to impacts on the natural systems and socioeconomic sectors that ultimately underpin human health. Much of the potential health impact of climate change can, however, be avoided through a combination of strengthening key health system functions and improved management of the risks presented by a changing climate.

The critical first step in this process is to carry out a vulnerability and adaptation assessment. In 2009, the WHO Regional Office for the Americas and WHO prepared draft guidance for this process, which was pilot-tested in studies across all WHO Regions. In July 2010, representatives of ministries of health from 15 countries came together in Costa Rica with WHO and subject area experts to share their experiences and provide feedback on how to improve the guidance for the conduct of vulnerability assessments.

This document is the result of this process. It is intended not as a final, definitive guide but as an important part of an evolving set of resources that will support effective and evidence-based action to protect health from climate change.