Effect of Deforestation on Mozambique Discussed at United Nations Event

Sigrid Hahn, MD, Associate Director of the Global Health Center at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, discussed how deforestation in Mozambique leads to water and food insecurity for rural communities as part of a United Nations (UN)-sponsored event celebrating the International Year of Biodiversity. The event took place Friday, April 30 at 6:00 PM, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

In collaboration with the UN Development Programme and the UN Environment Programme, Dr. Hahn participated in a panel to discuss the Global Health Center’s work researching the links between environmental degradation and poor health in African children. The Global Health Center is one of several public health partners at Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique who are working to strengthen community-based health programs, especially as they relate to maternal and child health issues, family planning and birth spacing.

“Children who reside in the buffer zone around Gorongosa National Park are faced with severe health problems, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, and pneumonia,” said Dr. Hahn. “Malnutrition is widespread, and is the underlying cause for up to half of childhood deaths in the area. Our team has worked with the community to identify their major health and environmental concerns, and we look forward to continuing to partner with community members to facilitate their involvement in solutions to these issues.”

The Global Health Center at Mount Sinai has worked for two years with the Carr Foundation, a U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to addressing environmental, health, and well-being issues at Gorongosa National Park. The park had supported some of the densest, most diverse population of wildlife in Africa, but due to civil war, the ecosystems in the park were strained. During the war, in addition to the massive human death toll, the park was essentially cleared of animals, which were hunted for food or poached and sold to fund the war. As a result, the large mammal population was reduced by 95 percent.

In addition, Mount Gorongosa, which is the watershed for the park and outside formal park boundaries, experienced a breakdown of traditional barriers against deforestation on the mountain. Now, because of the displacement of people onto the mountain during the war, people live on the mountain and are cutting trees to clear space for agriculture and sale of timber.

The Carr Foundation has teamed with the Government of Mozambique to protect and restore the ecosystem of Gorongosa National Park, while also working with partners like Mount Sinai to improve the health and livelihood of the surrounding human population. Together, they are working to link initiatives for the reforestation and agriculture programs with peer-to-peer and community health worker outreach programs.

The event was moderated by Charles McNeill, Senior Policy Advisor, the United Nations Development Programme. Other speakers at the event included:

* Felicity Arengo, PhD, Associate Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conversation, American Museum of Natural History
* H.E. Mr. Norihiro Okuda, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations
* Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biodiversity
* Aaron Bernstein, MD, MPH, Faculty Member, Center for Health and the Global Environment and Instructor in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
* Montira J. Pongsiri, PhD, MPH, Environmental Scientist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
* Erika Vohman, Director, The Equilibrium Fund
* Juanita Castaño, Director, New York Office, United Nations Environment Program

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