Ripple Effects: Climate Change, Water Security, and the Public Health Implications

Christopher Nial
What Matters in Global Health
3 min readJul 12, 2023

In a remote corner of Kenya, I met Amina. A vibrant twelve-year-old, Amina spends her days traversing parched landscapes, the scorching African sun bearing down on her. Her mission? To fetch water for her family is an arduous and perilous task that epitomises the alarming intersection of climate change, water security, and global health. Meeting Amina underscored the invisible yet devastating effects of our warming world.

Scientific data unquestionably link climate change to shifts in weather patterns, leading to extended droughts, intensified floods, and increasingly erratic rainfall. However, climate change is not simply an environmental issue — it is a humanitarian crisis that demands our urgent attention. When climate change disrupts water security, it is no longer an abstract concept but a concrete life-altering reality, particularly for people like Amina.

Water, a vital elixir, forms the lifeblood of any society. Its significance transcends quenching thirst or irrigation. It lays the foundation for sanitation, food security, and disease prevention. A lack of clean water creates a domino effect, compromising food production and leading to malnutrition. It disrupts sanitation, giving rise to waterborne diseases like cholera. Furthermore, floods and droughts exacerbated by climate change can annihilate homes and spread infectious diseases.

In my years working in global public health, I have seen first-hand how these crises are not indiscriminate. They disproportionately impact the most vulnerable among us, particularly women and children, who bear the burden of water collection in many societies. This situation is not merely an environmental crisis but a stark testament to pervasive social inequalities and health disparities we must address.

Travel to Yemen, where conflict and severe water scarcity intermingle, resulting in the worst cholera outbreak. Consider the low-lying Pacific islands, where rising sea levels threaten freshwater resources, jeopardising the health and livelihoods of local communities. These stories bring to life the human toll of these crises, reminding us that behind every statistic, there’s a human face — each one a part of our global family.

Despite these daunting realities, I believe in the power of hope, resilience, and collective action. We must go beyond temporary solutions to implement sustainable water management systems that respect climate predictions and address local needs.

Infrastructure that can withstand the impacts of climate change is another critical need. For instance, we’ve seen the potential of off-grid, solar-powered water systems in rural areas. These systems provide reliable water supplies, even during droughts, and significantly reduce the time women and children collect water.

But our collective action must not stop there. Governments, NGOs, the private sector, and individuals all have a role to play. We must take action to mitigate climate change, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to renewable energy sources. We must recognise the interconnectedness of these challenges and strive to develop integrated, holistic solutions.

As I reflect on my encounter with Amina, I am reminded of our shared responsibility to act. Fighting climate change isn’t just about preserving our planet — it is about protecting human dignity, health and championing social justice. Stories like Amina’s emphasise the urgency of our situation, requiring our empathy and collective action.

Our journey through this progressively warming world might feel daunting, but I believe in our shared resilience and ability to innovate and adapt. As we navigate these challenges, let us remember that every ripple, every wave begins with a single drop. A drop that starts with one girl fetching water, a community adapting to change, and a world deciding to act. Let us make sure each drop counts.

--

--

Christopher Nial
What Matters in Global Health

Senior Partner, EMEA Public Health within Global Public Health at FINN Partners | Watching How Climate will Change Global Public Health