When it comes to the Republic of Uganda, the health impacts associated with the climate crisis, albeit serious, are extremely subtle. Air pollution, drought, flooding and heat waves are all major contributors to the country’s health crisis and in this article we analyze just how far this has gone and possible solutions.

The Problem

In 2017, Kampala the country's capital came in with a PM2.5 average of 54.3 μg/m3, a massive reading that would have put it into the top most polluted cities of the world at that period in time. These levels have decreased monumentally over the years with the current PM2.5 average at 28.8 μg/m3.

The main causes of air pollution in the city include industrial pollution, with many factories, power plants and industrial zones giving out massive amounts of pollution, open waste disposal and finally vehicular emissions from the outdated cars on the city's streets.

All of these factors have negatively affected the people that live in these areas as their respiratory health keeps declining while the city’s state of urbanization only keeps growing.

Drought and Flooding caused by the destabilized weather patterns in the country have also exacerbated the health situation in the country. When it comes to drought, the first thing that this does is make food scarce. With the lack of food, children in particular will not have access to certain nutrients that keep them healthy. We should also note that as of 2018, 81% of Ugandan adults engaged in agricultural activities, 20% of those being women. Therefore without food, these individuals not only lose their source of income and sustenance, but their health is also put on the line.

Drought also brings about heat waves and with this comes dust storms which hinder the air quality as mentioned above. Water scarcity also becomes a problem during this period which puts people's health in dire circumstances.

Earlier this year, communities in Eastern and Northern Uganda were hit by heavy storms that led to flooding. This destroyed their homes and crops, many were forced to leave their homes, waterborne diseases went on the rise and the worst case scenario were deaths arising out of the floods.

So what can be done?

There needs to be more inclusive public engagement especially when it comes to solving some of these problems and one of the ways this can be done is through climate education. Majority of the population whose health is being affected by the above climate change contributors are not aware of the fact that for example, the respiratory issues they might be facing are due to air pollution.

Without this knowledge, people cannot demand for better systems and that is why educating communities about some of these topics as well as their rights when it comes to environmental protection is not only crucial for the environment but for their survival and wellbeing as well.