With each passing day, the fear of new diseases spreading in the world and the emergence of the next epidemic increases. There are many reasons behind this happening. Due to deforestation and increasing human intervention in forests, new microbes have started coming in contact with humans. Germs are also adapting to new conditions and places due to global warming and rising temperatures. As a result, many new diseases have emerged in the past few decades. Also, air travel has led to the spread of infection from one part of the world to another in less than 24 hours. In all this, increasing congestion and dense settlement in cities also prove to be weakness.
People’s health is also being affected by displacement due to extreme weather events, land degradation and drought. Not only are pollutants and plastics found in the depths of the oceans, but the high peaks of mountains are also not untouched by it. They have put a dent in our food chain. Highly processed products and foods and drinks called ‘junk’ are giving us obesity, which has increased diseases like cancer and heart attack. Antibiotics that were formerly effective with the unabated use of antimicrobials (antibiotics and antivirals) are now proving to be ineffective. New antibiotics are not being discovered at this speed.
All these aspects are having a serious impact on the health of humans and the earth. It is estimated that between 2030 and 2050 climate change could cause an additional 2.5 million premature deaths worldwide from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and extreme heat. Rising temperatures and floods due to climate change have increased the risk of vector-borne diseases such as dengue. Right now nine out of every ten people in the world are breathing polluted air. Nearly 24 percent of global deaths are directly or indirectly caused by contaminated climate. Air pollution kills 13 people every minute due to lung cancer, heart disease and stroke. The World Health Organization estimates that around 13 million people worldwide die each year from avoidable environmental factors.
Studies show that 3.6 billion people worldwide do not have a safe toilet. Untreated human excreta damages ecosystems and human health. About two billion people in the world do not have safe drinking water. Every year about eight lakh people die of diarrhea due to contaminated water and dirt. Similarly, tobacco kills 8 million people every year. It is a major factor in cancer, heart disease, lung diseases. Every year 600 million trees are cut down just to make 60 trillion cigarettes. Obviously, this is a major obstacle in the way of clean air. If public transport systems are made eco-friendly, air quality can improve. We can protect our water sources by preventing sewage, waste materials and toxic chemicals from entering our lakes, rivers and groundwater.
All these points show how human, animal and clean climate are intertwined. Due to this the idea of ’one health’ has emerged in the last decade. The biggest and most vivid proof of this interrelationship is the corona pandemic, which has created turmoil all over the world. That is, we have to take care of our environment at all times. In this context, the theme of World Health Day, 2022 is ‘Our Planet, Our Health’. This theme emphasizes the need to make special efforts to keep humans and the earth healthy and to create a healthy society. The current corona pandemic has stipulated the need for sustainable health, so the need of the hour is to commit to better health for ourselves and the next generations without tampering with the environment.
Certainly, together we can overcome many of these challenges and push the next pandemic forward. For this, we have to make such efforts that the virus does not spread from forests and animals to humans. It has to be understood that when deforestation is done in the name of agricultural work or indiscriminate development, then microbes easily come in contact with humans. Governments have to ensure that there is no loss of nature in the name of development. Governments should prioritize the provision of clean energy for cooking and lighting. There is also a need to create safe and cost-effective public transport systems, to build pedestrian or cycle-friendly sidewalks, and to adopt higher standards for curbing vehicular emissions. There is also a dire need to invest in energy-efficient housing and power generation, improve the disposal of industrial and urban waste, curb stubble burning, and limit activities related to agro-forestry.
Every person in the society can contribute in these works. We can do this by promoting car pools and using public transport whenever possible. If we want, we can also contribute to a healthier earth by reducing electricity consumption, avoiding highly processed foods, stopping tobacco production and consumption, reducing plastic use and using recyclable bags. Clearly, World Health Day is giving us a special opportunity to recover from the pandemic successfully and in a green way. We must work towards building a health-oriented society today, because even a single day’s delay may not be too late.
(These are the author’s own views)