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About Us
Who are we
African Coalition of Communities Responsive to Climate Change (ACCRCC)
Climate change is a significant and emerging threat to public health and community social cohesion. As things stand, it may get worse as planet warms, oceans expand and the sea level rises, floods and droughts become more frequent and intense. This necessitates societies to afresh at ways it has to protect vulnerable populations such as those with mental health challenges, chronic illnesses and in humanitarian situations.
There is an emerging trend as climate change threatens to undermine the gains in development as it ravages livelihoods affecting the management of resources, affecting health and productivity, leading to food insecurity, conflicts, increasing poverty, creating internal displacement of populations and increase in refugee crises as people flee areas of extreme climate events such as floods and droughts.
The relationship between climate change and health is complex, to some extent not so direct. The Shifting weather patterns have already driven up food prices partly due to failing crop yields. In the recent years climate change has become a social, economic, environmental and political challenge facing humankind both at local, regional and global level.
Climate change affects social and environmental determinants of health – clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter. In addition, there are different parameters of climate change that affect health such as extreme heat, natural disasters and variable rainfall patterns, and change in patterns of disease infection.
Climate change makes many existing diseases and conditions worse, but it may also lead to development of health challenges. There is a notable increase in health related challenges more so psychological wellbeing of individuals and communities. Climate change may be one of the indirect factors that are contributing to the prevalence of mental disorders.
Increase in populations in need of nutritional, energy, rights support, more so those in conflict conditions occasioned by climate-induced such as those in cross-border (regional and national) conflicts for resources is evident. This affects cohesion, increases conflicts which further fragments the social fabric and challenges the nutritional availability for the vulnerable populations such as children, elderly, people with disabilities and those with chronic illnesses.
Further, the conditions exacerbate the conditions leading development and or complexity in the management of non-communicable diseases.
ACCC aims, as a Pan African Entity to advocate for inclusion of mental health, conflicts resolution, population, health and nutritional management in strategic planning and policy formulation that address the impact of Climate Change as an endeavour to contribute to reduction of the burden in the Region for sustainable development.
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