The implications of climate change on health among vulnerable population in South Africa

Background: Climate change has been threatening human life in a variety of ways, impacting physical and mental health, environment, housing, food security and economic growth. Poor people are more vulnerable to the impacts as they already experienced multidimensional poverty with inequality in such as social, political, economic, historical and environmental conditions.Objective: The study aims to identify the role of climate change in increasing multidimensional inequalities among vulnerable populations and analyze strengths and limitations of South Africa's National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy.Methods: The documentary review method was applied, and the literatures from Google, Google Scholar and PubMed, as well as relevant grey literatures, were reviewed. Data from included articles and grey literatures were thematically summarized. Literatures were selected from 2014- 2022 for the review.Results: Out of 854 identified sources, 24 were included in the review. Climate change has exacerbated multidimensional inequalities among vulnerable populations in South Africa. National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy has paid attention to health issues and the needs of vulnerable groups, but adaptation measures appear to give less attention to some of the health issues like mental health and occupational health. Institutional and knowledge challenges are still remained to implement the adaptation actions.Conclusion: The results indicate that climate change plays a significant role in increasing multidimensional inequalities and exacerbating health consequences among vulnerable populations. By viewing inequality and vulnerability as interconnected dimensions of poverty, climate change could be reframed as an issue requiring multisectoral approach adaptation response. More effective data use, the development of a robust monitoring and surveillance system, and the improvement of research quality will help in government adaptation and accountability