Adaptation to protect health, also politics & communication

Is now the time for health & wellbeing in the Transition Movement (part 4/4)

The negative impacts on health and wellbeing of climate change are many and varied. Furthermore it might not come as a surprise that often vulnerable people and communities are the most at risk from climate change and extreme weather events. This was powerfully demonstrated in England during the floods of last winter (2013/14). Adaptation isn’t just flood barriers and defences, but could include Transition-type activity of building resilience and support for people who experience flooding. This may protect against the physical and mental health impacts of damp housing and disrupted infrastructure. With particular health needs in mind, as residents in Cockermouth in 2009 found when the river flooding caused disruption of the pharmacist and GP practice, access to drugs can become an emergency. Can Transition Initiatives encourage or enable emergency access to drugs such as insulin for diabetics or oxygen for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This may mean stockpiling certain products on which members of the community are dependent, or somehow preparing transport links for supply of these, despite disrupted infrastructure.

Wider political aspects

I’m going to try to not end on a negative note, but penultimately, it is important to acknowledge the wider political aspects of health and social care. Again similar to climate change, huge vested interests are at work, within healthcare and within the determinants of health; food, transport, housing, finance... Political issues and corporate interests which may impede a community enjoying sustainable healthy lifestyles may have to be tackled in future. But in the meantime, or on the way, we can bring many benefits within our projects and these should be explicitly valued, as part of the ‘Impact of Transition’.

Language is critical

And this is where Transition can really show the health people what to do. Communication about health issues is often at risk of being turned into pejorative headlines in the media, which may lead to negative attitudes and even stigma against particular health conditions. Advocacy for healthy lifestyles can often be perceived as having moral overtones. Therefore it is important to apply the values that I consider to be at the core of the Transition Movement; positive action and inclusivity. Let’s make sustainable health and wellbeing a party to which everyone is invited!