Canberra 5th September : A group of top medical organizations on Monday urged the Australian government to immediately release an Australian climate health action plan.In an official statement in a statement, the Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA) comprised of of over 40 health and medical organizations warned that the pressure on the health system was increasing as Australia is affected by more devastating floods and fires, according to Xinhua news agency.
In advance of gathering at the Better Futures Forum in Canberra on Monday, health leaders said they will discuss the urgent issues for the planned national climate health plan.
“Climate change has already killed Australians.The strain on the health system as well as our health professionals is overwhelming and the whole time in the middle of an epidemic that is spreading across the globe,” Fiona Armstrong, the founder of the CAHA in a statement.in the announcement.
“We have created a series of suggestions to help prepare for and protect the population as well as the health system from the inevitable effects of the climate change.”
The members of the CAHA comprise the Australian Medical Association (AMA), Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) and peak bodies that represent psychologists, nurses and midwives.
They warned that between 1991 and 2018, there were another 3000 deaths in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane Australia’s three largest cities, due to extreme temperatures.
“In this year’s floods alone 23 people died in floods after three weeks of rainfall along the coast of the East,” stated the report.
In the devastating 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires ,33 people were killed directly in the fires .It was estimated that 445 died due to of smoke inhalation with over 3,000 being hospitalized for smoke inhalation, according to CAHA.
“Doctors possess a distinct perspective and a vast understanding of the way that the world of climate health as well as human health connect because we experience the effects of climate change constantly on our patients as well as on the staff members who are on the frontline dealing with emergencies each day.” RACP president Jacqueline Small said.
Health leaders have called for a ministerial conference to collaborate across health and climate portfolios, a review of the health and economic damage caused by climate change, and a sustainable health division in the Department of Health to guide the health sector towards a more sustainable and environmentally sustainable practices.
