As we enter a new year,  we’re not just making resolutions…we’re assessing risks! Today, we’re discussing the top 5 global health threats for humanitarian work in 2024. Dr. Cecilia Lopez, one of our global health advisors, shares her expertise around what public health challenges we face in our humanitarian work as we head into 2024

Read on to hear from Dr. Cecilia!

Top 5 health threats in 2024

Humanitarian settings — characterized by conflict, displacement, and limited access to health care — often face numerous health threats. Public health threats in humanitarian settings can be complex and attributable to multiple causes. Inherent societal inequities exacerbate public health threats. While the specific challenges can vary depending on the context, the top 5 global health threats in humanitarian settings are as follows.

Threat #1: Climate change and air pollution

Climate change is considered a threat because it drives shifts in long-term weather patterns, increases the likelihood of climate-related disasters, and indirectly affects conflict and population displacement.

Climate change is a major driver of food and water insecurity. The impact of climate change on food systems is and will continue to be profound. Climate change-affected water supplies drive down crop yields particularly when combined with higher temperatures, floods, and droughts. Even mild climate effects can lower the nutrient content of foods. All of these patterns drive up levels of malnutrition, which underpins  many elements of child and adult health. They can also precipitate famine and its alarming consequences.

Climate change can also lead to an increase in infectious diseases, which are often worsened by malnutrition. Poor water quality also contributes to increases in malaria and dengue fever. The reality is that mosquitoes now live and reproduce in areas where previously they could not. Additionally, diarrheal diseases due to poor water quality caused by climate change are on the rise.

Extreme weather, worsening air and water quality, and changes in the distribution of diseases transmitted by insects or animals…needless to say, these all pose a considerable risk to human health. Structural factors like poverty and marginalization mean that people living in low-and middle-income countries bear the brunt of the unequal distribution of health threats associated with climate change. Humanitarian crises are directly impacted by climate change, which makes threats more likely and more severe and makes containment more difficult.

Threat # 2: Non-communicable diseases

Non-communicable diseases — including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes — are responsible for 74% of all adult deaths worldwide. More than three-quarters of those deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Non-communicable diseases have a significant impact on increasing rates of illness and death, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

In humanitarian emergencies, health systems face difficulties in addressing and managing non-communicable diseases. Often, health systems or health care infrastructure is compromised. The disruption of access to essential non-communicable disease health services can be widespread. This leads to preventable illness and death.

Adults living with non-communicable diseases require continuous care over long periods of time. Crises can disrupt this care and restrict the flow of essential medicines and services, making them more vulnerable.

Threat #3: Outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases (epidemics and pandemics)

Epidemics and pandemics, particularly those involving vaccine preventable diseases, have the potential to cause widespread illness and death. This is especially in areas with limited health infrastructure and resources, like in humanitarian emergencies.

Outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases — such as measles, diphtheria, yellow fever, and cholera — are significant health challenges, particularly for children. The reality is that in areas with limited access to health services and weakened health systems, timely detection and response is impeded. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the disruption of essential health care services, including life-saving public health interventions such as routine vaccinations. As a result, there is an increased risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases worldwide.

Threat #4: Inadequate access to health systems

Inadequate access to health systems is one of the top 5 global public health threats in humanitarian settings for several reasons. According to the World Health Organization, 22% of the global population lives in places where protracted crises and weakened health systems leave them without access to basic health services.

In such settings, inappropriate or poor quality health care for people experiencing illness or chronic conditions — including poor diagnosis, inappropriate treatment of illness, and inadequate patient referral — can lead to increased levels of illness, disability, or death. It can also further spread of infectious communicable diseases, and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. The misuse and overuse of antibiotics in humans, animals, and plants are the main drivers of antimicrobial resistance. Poverty and inequality exacerbate this problem, impacting people living in low-resource settings and other vulnerable populations. Inadequate access to health systems in humanitarian settings contributes to increased suffering, death, and accelerated spread of diseases.

Threat #5: Mental health and psychosocial support

Mental health and psychosocial support have a big impact on the well-being of people enduring a humanitarian crisis. The loss, stress, and displacement that people experience during emergencies can lead to health problems and increased risk of developing mental health conditions such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse, among others.

According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 5 people will develop some kind of mental health condition during a humanitarian emergency, like a natural disaster or refugee crisis. This is almost 3 times more common than emergencies in non-humanitarian settings.

Integrating mental health and psychological support in primary health care within humanitarian settings is crucial for enhancing positive mental well-being, reducing the risk of mental health conditions, and supporting recovery and resilience. It is essential to mitigate the adverse effects on mental health and increase the survival and well-being of affected populations.

Facing threats to public health together

Our health advisors like Dr. Cecilia continuously assess the ways we can  improve the health of the communities we serve. Ultimately, anticipating these kinds of global health threats helps save lives!

Learn more about our work at Medical Teams!

---

Dr. M. Cecilia Lopez is a Global Health Advisor for Medical Teams International. She contributes to the calling of Medical Teams through the provision of leadership and technical support to Medical Teams’ direct health services and health systems strengthening portfolios. As a global health advisor, she ensures technical quality in the design, development, and implementation of health programs in protracted humanitarian response projects, large-scale natural disasters, and complex emergencies.

She is dedicated to humanitarian work. With over 18 years of experience working in public health with international non-governmental organizations and the U.N., Dr. Lopez has experience working in both field operations and at headquarters level. She has worked in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

Dr. Lopez has experience in emergency projects and armed conflict areas. Additionally, she has responded to different epidemic outbreaks. These include COVID-19, Ebola, HIV/AIDS, Cholera, Lassa fever, Measles, Hepatitis E, and yellow fever, and natural disaster responses.