Costs of adapting to climate change for human health in developing countries

Discussion paper number 11:

This paper is one component of a global study on the Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change (EACC) in developing countries. It focuses on the main human health impacts of climate change, which include injuries and deaths from extreme weather events (flooding), heat- and cold-related deaths, water-borne disease (diarrhea), and a greater prevalence of malnutrition. It recommends adaptation measures, including actions outside the health sector such as disaster reduction programs, food and water security measures, and the provision of infrastructure services.

The scope of this paper is limited to conventional public health adaptation activities, with a focus on malaria and diarrhea. It also incorporates updates and revisions to the unit cost of prevention and treatment for malaria and diarrhea and updates to the exposure-response functions used to compute the relative risk for malaria.