Climate change and public health in underdeveloped countries of Latin America: Impacts, inequalities, and challenges for health systems
Keywords:
climate, natural disasters, resilience, viral diseasesAbstract
Climate change constitutes one of the greatest global threats to public health in the 21st century, due to its capacity to alter the social, environmental, and biological determinants of human health. This phenomenon intensifies existing risks and generates new health challenges, especially in developing countries where health systems have significant structural gaps. In Latin America and the Caribbean, regions characterized by social inequalities, fragile health systems, and high exposure to extreme weather events, the impact on public health is particularly pronounced. The objective was to analyze how climate change affects public health in the region, deepening pre-existing inequalities and challenging health systems to respond effectively and equitably. The findings indicate that climate change represents a multifaceted challenge to public health in developing countries in Latin America and other parts of the world.
Downloads
References
ECLAC. (2024). The urgency of investing in health systems in Latin America and the Caribbean to reduce inequality and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.Retrieved from https://www.cepal.org/es/publicaciones/80763-la-urgencia-invertir-sistemas-salud-america-latina-caribe-reducir-la-desigualdad
Guardian, h. (2025). Climate crisis. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/14/yellow-fever-dengue-south-america-climate?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Nasution, L. A., & Pradana, A. A. (2021). Vulnerable populations' coping in facing challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review. Enfermería global, 20(3), 612-621. DOI: https://doi.org/10.6018/eglobal.456301
OPS. (2025). Climate change and health. Retrieved from https://www.paho.org/es/temas/cambio-climatico-salud
Pais, E. (2025). The climate crisis exacerbates inequality in Latin America.CLIMATE CRISIS. Retrieved from https://elpais.com/america-futura/2025-06-11/la-crisis-climatica-agrava-la-desigualdad-en-america-latina.html
Roa, L., Velin, L., Tudravu, J., McClain, C. D., Bernstein, A., & Meara, J. G. (2020). Climate change: challenges and opportunities to scale up surgical, obstetric, and anaesthesia care globally. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(11), e538-e543. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30247-3
Scidev. (2021). Climate change has affected global agricultural productivity.. Retrieved from https://www.scidev.net/america-latina/news/cambio-climatico-ha-afectado-productividad-agricola-global/
Seneviratne, S. I., Corti, T., Davin, E. L., Hirschi, M., Jaeger, E. B., Lehner, I., ... & Teuling, A. J. (2010). Investigating soil moisture–climate interactions in a changing climate: A review. Earth-Science Reviews, 99(3-4), 125-161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.02.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.02.004
Suaste Pazmiño Denisse Isabel, G. V. (2024). Health communication strategies for the prevention of chikungunya, dengue and zika.Medisur [Internet], 22(6).
Zhou, L., Wu, X., Xu, Z., & Fujita, H. (2018). Emergency decision making for natural disasters: An overview. International journal of disaster risk reduction, 27, 567-576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.09.037 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.09.037
Zwaans, W. A. R., Mallia, P., Van Winden, M. E. C., & Rohde, G. G. U. (2014). The relevance of respiratory viral infections in the exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—a systematic review. Journal of Clinical Virology, 61(2), 181-188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2014.06.025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2014.06.025
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2025 International journal of health sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Articles published in the International Journal of Health Sciences (IJHS) are available under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authors retain copyright in their work and grant IJHS right of first publication under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles in this journal, and to use them for any other lawful purpose.
Articles published in IJHS can be copied, communicated and shared in their published form for non-commercial purposes provided full attribution is given to the author and the journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
This copyright notice applies to articles published in IJHS volumes 4 onwards. Please read about the copyright notices for previous volumes under Journal History.
