Diarrheal disease is an important health challenge, accounting for the majority of childhood deaths globally. Climate change is expected to increase the global burden of diarrheal disease but little is known regarding climate drivers, particularly in Africa. This study uses health data from Botswana spanning a 30-year period (1974–2003) to evaluate monthly reports of diarrheal disease among patients presented to Botswana's health facilities; this data was then compared with climatic variables.
Botswana
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Regional climate change projections for southern Africa indicate that global warming is likely to lead to greater increases in annual mean temperatures than the global average. This means increasing rainfall intensities, decreasing frequencies of low intensity (soft soaking) rainfall and longer dry periods between rainfall events, resulting in more severe droughts, floods and heatwaves, which will, in turn, lead to greater food insecurity in the region. This paper assesses the water-energy nexus in southern Africa in the context of climate change.
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With agriculture being the main source of both employment and income for southern Africa’s rural population, there is great concern regarding the potential impact of climate change. This study, produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), represents a comprehensive analysis of ways to foster agricultural development and food security to reduce such impacts. Several weather-based scenarios have been developed by the authors, describing how climate change may affect the region up to 2050.