Variabilité climatique et maladies respiratoires : cas du district de santé de nkolndongo

Abstract

The Nkolndongo health district, located in the city of Yaoundé in Cameroon, has been experiencing significant urbanizantion for several decades, leading to progressive environmental degradation. At the same time, the climate in this area is characterized by marked variability, including rising temperatures, prolonged periods of drought, and irregular rainfall. These environmental and climatic dynamics have a direct impact on the health of populations, particularly through the increase in respiratory diseases. In a context of environmental degradation and climate change, there has been a resurgence of respiratory diseases in the Nkolndongo health district. This study examines the relationships between climate variability and respiratory diseases in this densely populated area. The main objective of this study is to show the influence of climate variability on the prevalence of respiratory diseases in the Nkolndongo health district between 1987 and 2024. The study is based on a hypothetical-deductive methodological approach which consists of putting forward hypotheses which were verified in the field. We used data from secondary sources and data from primary sources. The latter were mainly drawn from direct field observations, the administration of interview guides to resource persons and the administration of survey questionnaires to households and the processing of registers in health facilities in the Nkolndongo health district. The results show a correlation between periods of high climate variability and the increase in cases of respiratory pathologies, particularly among the most vulnerable groups. The results obtained show that while in general the number of respiratory diseases continues to increase from one year to the next, there are, however, periods on a seasonal scale during which the number of diseases is particularly high. These periods correspond to the beginning and end of the rainy and dry seasons. For illnesses such as coughs, the number of cases ranges from 444, 364 and 430 for the months of January, February and March and from 366,679, 616 and 634 cases for the months of September, October, November and December. This high occurrence is also observed for the case of flu/cold with 182, 186 and 209 for the respective months of January, February and March and 341, 275 and 235 cases for the months of October, November and December. Despite some adaptation strategies implemented by the populations, the consideration of climate issues in local health policies remains insufficient. This research therefore calls for strengthening plant cover through urban reforestation policies (planting trees in public spaces and around homes), improving urban ventilation and drainage to limit the concentration of dust and allergens, raising community awareness of the effects of air pollution and good health behaviors during periods of high heat, integrating the climate factor into health planning through seasonal epidemiological monitoring, and reducing the vulnerability of at-risk populations, particularly children and the elderly, by promoting preventive care.