FEDERAL, State and Territory Governments are being urged to take action to address the health implications of climate change.
In its position paper on rural health policy in a changing climate, the National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) warned, "the cost of inaction on climate change will be much higher than the cost of action".
"Governments must prioritise and support research to assist rural, regional and remote communities to better adapt to and mitigate the direct and indirect effects of climate change on health, including the impact of extreme weather events, risks to agriculture and food security, and the potential threat of vector-borne diseases," the NRHA said.
"Governments will need to address the implications of climate change in their health care planning in terms of prevention, early intervention, primary care, secondary care, tertiary care, crisis and trauma management, mental health service provision, and health care workforce education and training.
"This planning will also need to incorporate the additional costs to health care from both direct and indirect effects of climate change.
"Governments and other support agencies should determine how best to ensure those members of society already disadvantaged by inequitable access to health care -- including those Australians living in rural and remote areas -- are not further disadvantaged by the impact of climate change on health."
The NRHA reported that rural, regional and remote communities were at the forefront of climate change impacts, which have a negative impact on their health and wellbeing.
"Climate change is a risk multiplier, in that it exacerbates pre-existing health and social issues," the NRHA said.
"For rural communities experiencing significant social and health inequities, including food insecurity, climate change accentuates these inequities, adding an additional burden to an already socioeconomically and environmentally challenged population.
"Communities in rural and remote Australia are highly vulnerable to the health-related effects of climate change."
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