Overall medical costs for the population of Bangladesh are likely to shoot upwards if climate change issues are not addressed immediately, said German Ambassador to Bangladesh Albrecht Conze.
He made the remark at the launching ceremony of a book titled “Climate Change and Bangladesh,” launched at the Centre for Development Communication (CDC) at the capital’s CIRDAP auditorium yesterday.
“People will be affected by different diseases that are born from environment pollution. The local politicians can play a key role in this regard. They can make a list of all the environmental diseases in order to find out the root causes and solve them,” he said.
“For example, Diarrhoea is caused by consumption of unhygienic water. So, if local politicians take steps to ensure proper maintenance of the sewerage system, then the number of patients would also reduce,” he said.
The ambassador stressed the importance of ensuring proper health education to children and youth to reduce the risks posed by climate change.
“If your children are well aware of hygiene, waste disposal and behave responsibly from an early age, then the problem can be sorted,” he said.
Executive Director of the Institute for Environment and Development (IED) Noman Ahmed Khan said: “The government should include the issues of climate change in the national curriculum to raise awareness among students.”
Speakers cited a statistic from the World Health Organisation that every year around 32,000 children and 14,000 women die because of the smoke generated from stoves in the kitchen.
Bangladesh is at huge risk from climate change because of its huge population, its proximity to sea level and geographical location, speakers observed.
Executive Director of the Centre for Development Communication Muhammad Jahangir edited the book.