The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Task Team on Climate Change, Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and Malaria, in partnership with Reaching the Last Mile (RLM), has released a report that reveals that there is not yet sufficient understanding of the actual and potential impacts of human-induced changes to climate patterns on malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). The comprehensive review by the UN health agency has revealed critical gaps in understanding the full impact of climate change on malaria, dengue, trachoma and other tropical diseases.
NTDs are a diverse group of conditions caused by a variety of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins. These include Chagas disease, dengue, chikungunya, leprosy, rabies, soil-transmitted helminthiases, snakebite, trachoma and yaws. It is estimated that they affect more than one billion people, according to WHO.
Rising temperatures and changing weather patterns are altering the spread of vector-borne diseases, with significant implications for human health and placing additional strain on systems. As the geographic range of disease vectors like mosquitoes expands, so does the risk of introducing – or reintroducing – these diseases to new, unprepared areas. The findings of this review highlight that these shifts in prevalence, incidence, range and intensity of malaria and a number of NTDs may be felt hardest in those communities already disproportionately impacted by them.
With just 34% of studies reviewed addressing mitigation strategies and 5% looking at adaptation methods, this review further highlights the lack of evidence required to protect the gains made against malaria and NTDs in recent decades. The majority of data sets used focused on malaria, dengue, and chikungunya, while other NTDs were significantly underrepresented.
In order to assess the impact of climate change on malaria and NTDs, this state-of-the-art scoping review analyzed peer-reviewed papers and grey literature published between January 2010 and October 2023, with investigators summarizing the identified data and analyzing the distribution of studies by country.
“Climate change, malaria and neglected tropical diseases: a scoping review” is published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (2024; 0: 1–18). See: Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
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