Within the Health, Climate, and Security Nexus: Prevention is Better than a Cure

The document examines the critical intersection of WASH services, climate change, and global health security, illustrating how water scarcity and infrastructure failure exacerbate disease transmission and political instability. It highlights specific instances in West Africa, India, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo where the lack of basic water services in healthcare facilities increased vulnerability to Ebola and other health crises. The author advocates for the U.S. Government to leverage its global water and climate strategies to promote sector-inclusive policies and funding that prioritize prevention over response.

• Inadequate WASH services in healthcare facilities significantly increase the risk of disease transmission among staff; during the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, frontline healthcare workers were up to 32 times more likely to contract the disease than the general population.
• Water insecurity in healthcare settings is a widespread global issue, with 25% of all healthcare facilities worldwide lacking basic water services, a figure that rises to 50% in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) such as Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Climate-driven disasters directly compromise health infrastructure; for example, Cyclone Pam in 2015 destroyed 68% of rainwater harvesting and sanitation structures in Vanuatu, leaving nearly half of the evaluated healthcare facilities without adequate water supply.
• There is a cyclical relationship between disease outbreaks and conflict, as seen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between 2018-2020, where Ebola-affected health zones in Ituri and North Kivu saw conflict events per month increase by a factor of 0.7 compared to non-affected zones.
• The U.S. Government has established several frameworks to address these issues, including the USAID Climate Strategy, the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, and the White House Action Plan on Global Water Security announced on June 1, 2022.

APA

Bridges, K. (2022). Within the Health, Climate, and Security Nexus: Prevention is Better than a Cure. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2022/06/29/within-the-health-climate-and-security-nexus-prevention-is-better-than-a-cure/

Chicago

Bridges, Kelly. Within the Health, Climate, and Security Nexus: Prevention is Better than a Cure. The Council on Strategic Risks, 2022. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2022/06/29/within-the-health-climate-and-security-nexus-prevention-is-better-than-a-cure/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Bridges |first1=Kelly |title=Within the Health, Climate, and Security Nexus: Prevention is Better than a Cure |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |date=29 June 2022 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2022/06/29/within-the-health-climate-and-security-nexus-prevention-is-better-than-a-cure/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{bridges2022within, author = {Bridges, Kelly}, title = {{Within the Health, Climate, and Security Nexus: Prevention is Better than a Cure}}, publisher = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2022/06/29/within-the-health-climate-and-security-nexus-prevention-is-better-than-a-cure/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }