Environmental Health in Israel | 2014

Progress and Challenges  Based on reports submitted by the ICCIC, Israel has yet to develop a national plan for coping with climate change.  Within the framework of the committee of directors-general, draft guidelines have been developed for the MoH to cope with climate change. These guidelines include recommendations for strengthening collaboration between the Meteorological Service and the MoH. Such collaboration would enable the health system to have more advance warning of extreme climate events and thus minimize the public health impact to the extent possible. Similarly, collaboration is needed to track patterns of diseases and morbidity that are likely to be affected by gradual climate change. The central challenge in monitoring the health effects of climate change in Israel is the lack of a nationwide up-to-date electronic database containing indices of exposure and health outcomes from hospitals and Health Maintenance Organizations.  In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of cases of leishmaniasis in various places in Israel. The Leishmania parasite causes severe skin disease that is characterized by ulcers and infections. In 2012, in light of the rise in the number of cases, the government decided on a national plan for reducing Leishmania. The plan is funded by the MoEP and the MoH. - 77 - Climate Change