Africa,climate change and the markets

The markets are in charge. But who is in charge of the markets? And do the markets care about climate change in Africa? ¹ What about the effect of austerity on waiting list times in Scotland? ² Or how to train the international medical graduates that the UK increasingly relies on? ³ Presumably, the markets are interested in how a communicable disease like monkey pox is managed in primary care. ⁴ The markets might wish to show interest in the role of complaint handling in improving quality of care. ⁵

However, just as with research, seemingly logical assumptions can be misleading. ⁶ When the markets should care about the effects of climate change on poor countries, they don’t seem to. The evidence is clear that poor countries are experiencing the greatest impact from climate change; yet, they are responsible for a small proportion of climate damage. A healthy Africa will be a more prosperous one; hence, minimising the health effects of climate change should be a priority.

The route to prosperity for Africa is also complicated by funding flows for investing in health, particularly primary care. Countries are reliant on overseas aid and private funding to shore up their health systems.If the goal is to have more public funding devoted to health and social care, then rich countries may need to contribute more, not through aid or loans but instead by paying reparations, in the form of debt relief, for harm being caused by climate change. It’s a view that is gathering momentum despite the unfolding global economic crisis, but will it ever receive enough support from the markets?

There is a clear logic, even an economic one, to reducing the climate impact on Africa and to improving population health. The relationship between health and wealth is the reason the World Bank has become so heavily involved in health in the past 25 years. It’s a relationship that ‘the markets’ would do well to better understand and to champion.