A review of regional variations in vulnerability to infectious diseases and policy implications for climate change and health

Abstract

Climate change can affect the frequency and intensity of infectious diseases worldwide, which may further aggravate disparities in the health and disease burden. Apart from the known risk factors, the concurrent COVID-19 pandemic exposed a range of social vulnerabilities that influenced its local impacts and responses. Even though global policies consider various local vulnerabilities, the literature notes an increasing need to address their intertwined spatial implications. This paper offers a review of studies focusing on infectious diseases to understand regional variations in vulnerability and policy implications. By using the scoping review method it compares the trends of regional vulnerability in literature with the ones observed during COVID-19 along with the recent regional reports addressing issues of climate change and health for their policy implications. It finds that due to the overarching nature of global policies, various aspects of regional vulnerability remain unaddressed, and many important regional observations do not find their way to inform global policies. The paper thus argues that considering variations in regional vulnerability in global policies and developing regional guidelines could contribute to an integrated response and effective management of global hazards concerning climate change and health.