Climate change and health in Colombia

Abstract

As the impacts of climate change become more widely acknowledged, federal governments are beginning to address the subject in the national agenda. However, the difficulty in determining the magnitude and impacts of climate change has led to challenges in policy-making. This chapter seeks to create a comprehensive understanding of how Colombia and the federal government have made important advances in implementing a climate change framework with a focus on health. This chapter will provide context on the role and responsibilities of the government before discussing the climatic conditions of Colombia and how climate change is impacting the country, especially on the health sector. Such discussion will justify why climate change is a major current and future priority for the country. The chapter will then examine the existing climate change policy framework and ongoing projects that are targeted toward climate and health. This chapter will show that there is still a need to improve the capacities and interest of the public health research community by improving the evidence and knowledge about climate change impacts, vulnerability, and risk. Understanding Colombia’s national circumstances will allow other countries and decision-makers to potentially use Colombia as an example to define their own health and climate change agendas.