Status of the development of health national adaptation plan for climate change in South-East Asia
This status report details progress in planning for the protection of human health from climate change for nine out of the eleven countries in the South-East Asia (SEA) Region. Progress has been delayed because development of the required planning instruments was not straightforward. Indeed, the more holistic NAP concept originated in 2011 at Conference of Parties (COP) 17 – 10 years after the first national adaptation programmes of action or NAPAs had been launched. This is one reason why some countries in the SEA Region have not yet developed their NAPs. In addition, conventionally most, if not all, action related to climate change has been under the responsibility of the environment sector, with health only peripherally involved.
As a result, so far, only three countries out of nine have effectively developed a national health VAA and carried out their health national adaptation plan for climate change (HNAP). All other SEA Region countries have initiated if not already completed several of the seven activities needed to complete a health VAA. Finally, this status report presents an overview of the activities that the nine SEA Region countries plan to complete to further mature their national HNAP in 2017, indicating specific recommendations and additional tools towards that end.