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US Expert Attributes Nigeria's Malaria Burden To High Emissions

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja 


The Director of Center for Environmental Journalism, United States, Prof Tom Yulsman has attributed the frequent malaria attacks in Nigeria to high emissions. 

Yulsman provided the insight at a one-day virtual capacity building programme for Environment journalists, organised by the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Abuja recently. 

Currently, Nigeria accounts for 0.23 percent of global emissions given its patronage of high emittant vehicles and other gadgets from developed countries. 

Aside high emissions from Carbondioxide, there is an indication that climate change would increase malaria burden in the country. 

Speaking on: "From Global to Local: An Overview of Climate Change for Journalists", he stated that anopheles mosquitoes which transmit malaria thrive in high temperatures, humidity and rainfall.

Yulsman, who is also a lecturer in the Department of Journalism, University of Colorado, Boulder, US, hinted that Nigeria accounted for 27 percent of global malaria cases and 38 percent of global malaria deaths among children under five in 2021. 

He quoted the World Heaith Organisation as saying that malaria decreased by 25 percent between 2000 and 2021, while child death rates decreased by 16 percent between 2010 and 2020.

This, he attributed to the use of insecticide treated bed nets, preventive treatments, testing and malaria medicine.  

Yulsman revealed that persons living in the least developed countries are 10 times at risk of experiencing climate disasters than individuals in wealthy countries annually. 

The don hinted that climate change is a threat to humans and planetary health, adding that window of opportunities, meant to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all are shutting down. 

“Climate resilient development integrates adaptation and mitigation to advance sustainable development for all, and  is enabled by increased international cooperation including improved access to adequate financial resources, particularly for vulnerable regions, sectors and groups, and inclusive governance and coordinated policies", he added.

Yulsman revealed that climate change worsened activities in the lower Niger Basin and contributed to the shrinking of Lake Chad to more than 80 percent of its original capacity.   

He quoted a report from World Weather Attribution as saying that climate change excarbated heavy rainfall, leading to large scale flooding in highly vulnerable communities in West Africa especially Nigeria. 

The director disclosed that the devastating impacts of climate change were further exacerbated by the proximity of human settlements, infrastructure and agricultural land to flood plains and ongoing political and economic instability. 

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