Climate change occurs due to increasing greenhouse gases which cause an increase in the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere. This climate change causes various negative impacts in the form of environmental damage that affect human health both directly, through disease and vector changes as well as socio-economic changes due to the impact of this climate change. Climate change causes an increase in morbidity and mortality. Climate change also affects reproductive health, pregnancy, and the fetus in the womb.
These various problems due to climate change provide a warning of the increasingly negative impacts of climate change, including the impact on maternal health. Climate change can cause a large burden of disease that will burden public health and the health care system. Indonesia also has a big problem in maternal health. The maternal mortality rate, which is an indicator of health, still shows a high-rate of 305/100,000 live births in 2015. The maternal health indicator is still concerning and still lags when compared to similar conditions in ASEAN countries.
Seeing these conditions, the University of Indonesia’s Faculty of Public Health (FPH) collaborated with Pita Putih Indonesia and the Budi Kemuliaan Association to hold a Round Table Discussion (RTD) to discuss the impact of climate change on the health of mothers and children on Thursday, 23 February 2023. It was held in the Room FPH UI Doctoral Promotion, this activity was attended by speakers from ministries and policy-making institutions related to maternal and child health, and climate change. RTD aims to find out government policies regarding the impact of climate change on health and reproductive health, maternal and child health; as well as gathering input for the development of climate change mitigation and adaptation agendas in the health and reproductive health sector.
Present to open the RTD were Deputy Dean for Resources, Ventures, and General Administration of FPH UI, Dr. Milla Herdayati, S.K.M., M.Si. “The issue of global warming is a global issue that is widely discussed everywhere. The impact of global warming not only has an impact on environmental health and disasters but also has an impact on reproductive health, namely in pregnancy and babies born, for example the occurrence of abortion and premature birth. The most vulnerable groups to be affected are women, infants, and children. It is hoped that from this RTD, insights can be obtained about further impacts, policies, and plans of action that can be formulated. The FPH UI Reproductive Health Study Group chaired by Prof. Dr. dr. Sabarinah, M.Sc., is one of the pioneers who will jointly follow up on the results of this RTD,” said Dr. Milla in her speech.
In the discussion led by Prof. Dr. dr. Sabarinah, M.Sc., as the moderator, Dr. Ir. Dodo Gunawan, DEA., from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) started the material on “Climate Change in Indonesia, Its Sustainability and Impact on Environmental Damage and Disasters”. Doctor Dodo said that BMKG had done several things in handling climate change, one of which was that BMKG had collaborated with the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government and Health Service to map the relationship between rainfall and the possible spread of Dengue Fever to estimate the possibility of an increase in cases. This adaptation made by the BMKG can later be supplemented with health information so that it can be accepted even better by the public.
Professor of the Department of Environmental Health FPH UI, Prof. Dr. Budi Haryanto, S.K.M., M.Kes., M.Sc., continued his presentation on “Climate Change: Health Impacts and Actions”. Prof. Budiharyanto stated that the biggest cause of increasing carbon dioxide gas emissions is the ever-increasing burning of fuels and forest fires. The effects of climate change occur in the emergence of economic problems, the poor, the environment, and human life as a downstream impact. “The effect of increasing carbon gas emissions is most visible, among others, in increasing health problems such as malnutrition, diarrhea and malaria besides the most obvious environmental impact, namely flooding,” said Prof. Budiharyanto.
Furthermore, Adelina Hutauruk from the Indonesian Ministry of Health conveyed about Adaptation and Mitigation in Climate Change. It was stated that 90% of disasters in Indonesia were hydrometeorological disasters and diseases caused by increased greenhouse gases became the number two disease that infects many Indonesian people. “Responding to the impact of climate change, of course, it is necessary to build an environmentally resilient health system, in line with climate change,” said Adelina Hutauruk from the Indonesian Ministry of Health. Several maternal and child health programs that are in line with tackling the impact of climate change have been implemented for programs to reduce maternal mortality and birth control, and specific and sensitive nutrition intervention programs have also been implemented to improve the nutritional status and health of children.
During the discussion session, various responses were given from representatives of various institutions such as the Republic of Indonesia’s National Population and Family Planning Agency; RI National Agency for Disaster Management; Pita Putih Indonesia and Director of the UI School of Environmental Sciences, Dr. dr.Tri Edhi Budhi Soesilo, M.Sc. Some of the issues highlighted by these responders include that climate change is causing food insecurity which will have a negative impact on the need for nutritional intake for pregnant women and toddlers, the risk of exposure to the effects of climate change in newborns which can affect their future, the need for an early warning system, mitigation and adaptation to the effects of climate change, information communication and literacy education in the community, as well as the need for cross-sectoral collaboration to deal with the impacts of climate change, especially on pregnant women and toddlers.
Overcoming climate change, mitigation and adaptation must indeed be carried out by many parties. In addition, to reduce the impact, it is also necessary to build awareness of what will happen because of climate change. For this reason, it is necessary to build understanding and commitment from all parties to deal with climate change, especially the impact on health and reproductive health which is related to the quality of human life in the future. (wrk)
