October 07, 2014
Climate change threat to Maori health
A public health conference has heard that climate change is threatening the right to health for Maori.
Dr Rhys Jones told the New Zealand Population Health Congress in Auckland today that the adverse impacts of climate change will be disproportionately borne by the most disadvantaged populations, including indigenous peoples.
He says Maori already have higher levels of social deprivation, poorer existing health status and face greater barriers to accessing quality health care.
With climate change they are likely to be affected by poorer access to food sources and good nutrition, injury and illness from extreme weather events, more cardiovascular and respiratory disease from air pollution, and more food and water-borne disease.
Many Maori communities are in coastal areas which are vulnerable to extreme weather conditions.
Dr Jones says Maori consider a healthy environment is a prerequisite for good health.
He says to protect the rights of Maori and other citizens, New Zealand needs to be an active participant in global efforts to urgently reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as adopt climate change mitigation strategies that also improve health and reduce disparities between Maori and non-Maori.
Dr Jones was presenting a paper co-written with Hayley Bennett, Gay Keating and Alison Blaiklock and published in the international Health and Human Rights Journal.
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