Abstract
Drought is often a hidden risk with the potential to become a silent public health disaster. It is difficult to define precisely when it starts or when it is over, and although it is a climatological event, its impacts depend on other human activities, and are intensified by social vulnerability. In Brazil, half of all natural disaster events are drought related, and they cause half of the impacts in number of affected persons. One large affected area is the semiarid region of Brazil’s Northeast, which has historically been affected by drought. Many health and well-being indicators in this region are worse than the rest of the country, based on an analysis of 5565 municipalities using available census data for 1991, 2000 and 2010, which allowed separating the 1133 municipalities affected by drought in order to compare them with the rest of the country. Although great progress has been made in reducing social and economic vulnerability, climate change and the expected changes in the semiarid region in the next few decades call for a review of current programs, particularly in public health, and the planning of new interventions with local communities. This study reviews the literature, analyzes available data and identifies possible actions and actors. The aim is to ensure there will be sufficient and sustainable local adaptive capacity and resilience, for a population already living within the limits of environmental vulnerability.
Highlights
Drought is often a hidden risk with the potential to become a silent public health disaster
Relevant to Brazil, we note the following [3,17,34]: (a) Socially determined—structure and capacity of existing water resources; socioeconomic development of the local communities; at risk population in the affected area; community vulnerability in front of social and environmental determinants; population health status; governance related to water use; population and local government resilience; environmental education programs; social programs and networks. (b) Environmentally determined—geophysical and environmental characteristics of the area; drought severity; water scarcity and contamination; soil contamination and salinization; land use change and degradation; loss of biodiversity; ecosystem degradation; inadequate crops; overgrazing; and the increasing impact of climate change
The health sector must ensure its active participation at all levels of government (Municipal, State and Federal), during inter-sectorial discussions on drought management
Summary
Drought is often a hidden risk with the potential to become a silent public health disaster. Understanding the complex issues surrounding drought, including the social, economic, environmental and health characteristics of the population are needed to ensure an effective process of disaster risk management.
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