NCDC is specifically trying to focus on the effects of rising heat and damaging air quality. The institute is working with various medical councils to present the impact of climate change to medical training.
Source: WHO
The study of climate change and its effects on human health is soon to be in the books of medical students. The endeavor by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) targets the country as a whole. The initiative tries to replace the reluctance of the medical field for more than a decade to recognize the adverse consequences of climate change.
NCDC is specifically trying to focus on the effects of rising heat and damaging air quality. The institute is working with various medical councils to present the impact of climate change to medical training.
The National Medical Council, the dental council, Ayush nursing council and pharmacy council are among the few councils that have been involved up until now. Medical schools will start teaching about environmental health shortly.
There is very limited scope for questions related to the external environment when it comes to the health of a person. It’s always something about what someone eats and drinks. The aim is to make people talk more about the changing climatic conditions and how they are connected to various health issues observed recently.
At the national workshop on heat wave 2023, held at IIT Bombay on the 14th of February, experts praised the Ahmedabad model regarding health. The Gujarat city became the first in India to establish a health care plan that includes warning systems and a pre-preparedness plan.
The finding that there is a rise in deaths in the month of May by public health researchers from all-causes mortality data is quite alarming. Mahaveer Golechha, associate professor at the Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar, urges the acknowledgement of the reality of the effects of climate change on the population’s health. It is only its admittance that can help invent necessary remedial steps.
The increase in the intensity of heat waves is not negligible anymore. It will equally upshot the health, bionomics and economy of the society. India is likely to be one of the most affected countries as well, according to the Disaster Management Authority.
Is the switch in the schedule essential?
The poor repercussions on physical well-being of people due to global warming is not something stored for the future. It is already happening to a poor degree.
According to a survey conducted by the International Federation of Medical Students’ Association, only 15% of the world’s medical schools have added climate change to their syllabus. That is why it should be one of the core topics in medical studies in the 21st century. Such a curriculum will shape many practitioners for today’s as well as the future’s climate.
In the succeeding years, medical schools with an absence of climate change education will find it difficult to go with the industry’s pace.
Causes for the delay
The only reason that made the plea come under the notice of the authorities is the collective action by medical students and trainees. After the stage of consideration, not a lot of further procedures have been taken to put it into effect. The first reason is the lack of expert skill or knowledge required for it. If the faculties have to integrate this work with their already existing schedule, they need to be paid more.
Another practical difficulty is when it comes to resources. Again, funding matters throughout the process of getting the resources and advancing them into a form that could be used in the education curriculum. Apart from these, proper planning and arrangement of portions should be made in the already filled schedule of the medical students.
Marina Romanello, executive director of the Lancet Countdown said, “We as a health community, as policy makers come together and give a robust and strong message that we don’t have a liveable future unless we take action now and that climate change is affecting us today: it’s not a problem of the future, it’s not a problem of someone else.”
People often believe that climate change is something that happens in different parts of the world but not around them. The scope for a change lies in the realization that the health problems are directly related to climate change. Besides this, the government and other concerned authorities should identify the impact of climate change on the country and should design and add climate and health related plans to the national level strategies for development.