Almost 5 of the worlds carbon emissions come from the healthcare sector and add to global warming that drives changing weather patterns
Rethinking how hospitals are designed and sterilising and reusing, rather than throwing away instruments after a procedure, can get this figure down.
But South Africas healthcare workers say regulations are stopping them from doing this and so playing their part in slowing climate change.
In todays newsletter , Zano Kunene and Sipokazi Fokazi explain how South Africas hospital system is having trouble going green. Sign up for our newsletter today.
Nearly 5 of the worlds carbon emissions come from the healthcare sector, says a report launched at COP29 , the UNs annual climate change conference on Tuesday and money for dealing with the disastrous effects of changing weather patterns on peoples health is urgently needed.
But South Africa is not yet a member of a World Health Organisation WHO group called the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health , for which plans were put in place in 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow , as a way to help countries make their health services greener.
Keeping hospitals running adds to the rising level of greenhouse gases in the air, because of the electricity used to power buildings and equipment, fuel needed to transport patients and get supplies delivered and dealing with waste, says Azeeza Rangunwala, coordinator for Africa at Global Green and Healthy Hospitals , a network of people who help healthcare facilities across the world to be more environmentally friendly.
Burning fuels like coal and oil to generate electricity and making products releases a lot of carbon dioxide into the air. This forms a layer in the atmosphere that traps heat rising up from the Earths surface after being baked hot by the Sun all day. Because the heat cant escape, the air heats up much like in a greenhouse and over time, the air gets warmer and warmer .
