Climate Change, Policies Linked With Poverty Elimination Efforts, World Bank Report Says

News outlets discuss the links between global health, poverty elimination, and climate change, including a new World Bank report on the issue.

Associated Press: World Bank: Climate change could result in 100 million poor
“Climate change could push more than 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030 by disrupting agriculture and fueling the spread of malaria and other diseases, the World Bank said in a report Sunday. Released just weeks ahead of a U.N. climate summit in Paris, the report highlighted how the impact of global warming is borne unevenly, with the world’s poor woefully unprepared to deal with climate shocks such as rising seas or severe droughts…” (Ritter, 11/8).

The Guardian: Rising temperatures could drive 100m into extreme poverty, World Bank warns
“…Climate change has led to crop failures, natural disasters, higher food prices, and the spread of waterborne diseases, creating poverty and pushing people at risk into destitution, according to Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty, released on Sunday…” (Anderson, 11/8).

IRIN: Will climate change = more disease?
“…[M]any scientists are unequivocal that a link between climate change and disease spread to humans can be made. The difficulty is proving causality. [Barbara Han of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies] believes the case ‘can absolutely be made.’ The issue, she says, is ‘not whether, but how’…” (Garson, 11/6).

Thomson Reuters Foundation: World Bank warns climate change could add 100 mln poor by 2030
“…The bank’s estimate of 100 million more poor by 2030 is on top of 900 million expected to be living in extreme poverty if development progresses slowly. In 2015, the bank puts the number of poor at 702 million people. Climate change is already hurting them through decreased crop yields, floods washing away assets and livelihoods, and a bigger threat of diseases like malaria, said John Roome, World Bank senior director for climate change. He described ending poverty and tackling climate change as ‘the defining issues of our generation’…” (Rowling, 11/9).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

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