Zanzibar equips its community health workers with skills to tackle climate change effects
ZANZIBAR: ZANZIBAR’S Ministry of Health has urged healthcare providers and Community Health Workers (CHWs) to make full use of the knowledge and skills gained through climate change and health training to strengthen the health system’s capacity to respond to the impacts of climate change and protect public health.
Officially opening the training for healthcare providers and CHWs from North Unguja Region, Director General of Zanzibar’s Ministry of Health, Dr Maryam Seif Hemed, said climate change was increasingly becoming a challenge that could affect public health by increasing or triggering various diseases and health conditions.
She said potential challenges include heat-related illnesses, diseases associated with the use of unsafe water, malaria, as well as difficulties in accessing food and healthcare services. She said the situation requires health workers to undertake early preparedness and response measures.
Dr Hemed also urged Community Health Workers to serve as a key link between communities and the health system by continuing to educate the public on ways to prevent the health impacts of climate change, identify disease symptoms early, provide timely referrals and encourage communities to prepare for extreme weather events.
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For her part, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Zanzibar, Dr Ndoungou Salla Ba, said strengthening the capacity of health workers was essential to building a health system capable of responding effectively to the impacts of climate change.
Dr Salla Ba said WHO would continue working with the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar through the Ministry of Health to strengthen preparedness and the capacity of the health system to respond to challenges associated with climate change, including preparations for El Niño and other extreme weather events.
The two-day training is being conducted jointly by Zanzibar’s Ministry of Health and WHO. It aims to strengthen the capacity of healthcare providers and CHWs to understand the impacts of climate change on health and improve preparedness and early response measures.
