Oral

The impacts of climate change affect community livelihoods and harm health in ways that do not stop at national borders. Climate change is a global concern of historic proportions, and an opportunity for APHA members with diverse interests – Environment, International Health, Maternal & Child Health, Community Health , to name but a few - to find new common ground on this issue. Speakers with global expertise will discuss climate change’s impacts on health; its role in economic development; and strategies for enhancing community resilience to climate change – in international locations and cities here in the US. The Special Session will offer ideas on prioritizing climate change for reasons of both economic development and community health, in order to limit the most drastic effects of what has already been called, “the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.”

Session Objectives: Identify three ways that climate changes are already affecting public health internationally. Describe two effects of climate change that specifically harm the health of women and children.