Global Human Health Campaign Announcement!

Climate Change and Human Health in Southeast Asia

Lunas Global Health Network USA is proud to announce our Global Human Health campaign! In this campaign, we are focused on addressing the impacts of climate change on health in Southeast Asia. Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing our world today and is already having devastating effects on the health and well-being of hundreds of millions of people. Lunas is committed to raising awareness about the impacts of climate change on health and advocating for community partners who are taking action to mitigate these effects. Throughout 2023, we will focus our educational, advocacy, and fundraising efforts on the increasingly drastic impacts climate change has on health in Southeast Asia.

Source: Lunas

Education

Increased education on the regional global impacts of climate change is an essential part of advocating for health. Our Global Human Health campaign seeks to bring these issues to the consciousness of people around the globe. As stated in our Core Beliefs, we believe that education is the first step in raising awareness toward building a sustainable support network between the US and Global South. We strive to raise awareness surrounding the worsening climate and public health crises in Southeast Asia in order to empower the international community to take action.

Source: Lunas

Coastal populations in Southeast Asia are particularly prone to the effects of climate change. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 19 out of the 25 cities that will be most impacted by a rise in sea level of 1 meter are in Asia. 7 of these alone are in the Philippines while half of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is below sea level already.

(Source CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/26/asia/typhoon-karding-noru-philippines-deaths-intl-hnk/index.html)

Interior water sources such as rivers and lakes and those who rely on them are also facing existential crises. More than 60 million people throughout Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam rely on the Mekong river for water, fish, and more. In 2019, these regions faced their worst drought in 100 years due to climate change, impacting millions. In Cambodia, the massive Tonlé Sap Lake is facing numerous environmental risks, including overfishing, pollution, and deforestation.

This image was taken by Lunas contacts at Kampong Khleang, a fishing village on the eastern side of the Tonlé Sap lake. It's one of the most productive fisheries in Southeast Asia, while the surrounding land is dry rice fields. In this image, it is the dry season but the people there explained that it was an extremely dry and hot year, and that it has been getting hotter every year during the dry season. The bigger boats with lots of seats pictured here are mostly for tourism, while the long, pointy boats are for fishing and traveling around the area during the wet season when the lake rises again and floods the area.

Southeast Asian countries and communities are faced with ever-increasing problems due to climate change, like lack of fresh water, volatile weather events, sea level rise, temperature change, and much more. Heat-related mortality has gone up by 61% in Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines since the 1990s. Climate change will also slash rice yields across Southeast Asia, upon which millions rely, by 50% by 2100.

Lunas is committed to raising international awareness of the increasingly dire impacts of climate change on communities in Southeast Asia. Join us in our mission to improve global health outcomes by supporting our work in Cambodia and beyond. Together, we can build a healthier, more sustainable future for all.

Source: KCEO

Advocacy & Networking

In our deeply interconnected world, global solidarity can provide a crucial means of support, connections, and more to local health and environmental justice initiatives. In our Global Human Health campaign, Lunas advocates for global approaches to addressing climate change that center the needs of the most immediately affected. We are working to create and sustain meaningful partnerships with individuals, grassroots organizations, nonprofits, institutions, and others to connect our international network with our community partners in Cambodia conducting health education for rural youth and in the Philippines providing relief and rehabilitation for victims of climate disasters.

Source: Lunas

How you can plug in

Communities in Southeast Asia are dealing with the debilitating, harsh impacts of climate change already, but you can have an impact in the fight for human and global health. Lunas is committed to this vital work and believes that by coming together, we can make a difference and build a healthier, more sustainable future for all.

Join our Global Human Health campaign, help us make a difference! Like and share our campaign announcement Instagram post, donate to our efforts here, and fill out this form to join our network, host us for a teach in, collaborate, or more.

Source: Lunas