June 2020

The social, cultural and environmental determinants of health have a significant influence on health outcomes. Governments have a responsibility to protect the people they represent and therefore must prioritise action to help reduce the risks to people’s health arising from natural disasters. This is particularly critical at this moment because we know that climate change is contributing to increased intensity, duration and frequency of disaster events.

Natural disasters increase mortality and morbidity by placing pressure on health services, aggravating existing illnesses and placing more Australians at risk of illness It is important that we recognise that the recent bushfire season was not an outlier – consumers have been experiencing the health impacts of climate change for many years already and will continue to do so.  … read more