1-23-08, 9:49 am

GENEVA, January 21.— World Health Organization General Director Margaret Chan said on Monday that humanity is the most vulnerable species threatened by climate change.

During the opening WHO session in Geneva, Chan said there is an extraordinary relation between climate change and health, thus the issue is a priority for the organization she heads.

The most recent predictions, published in November, said Africa will be severely affected by droughts, floods, storms and heat waves as early as 2020, provoking an international health crisis.

This is just a dozen years away, she told the meeting, stressing that international health experts needed to address the expected impacts of droughts, floods, storms, heat-waves, air pollution, malnutrition, displaced populations, and water-borne and vector-borne disease.

The WHO leader also spoke about HIV/AIDS saying that without becoming over indicators show a reduction in the number of deaths due to the AIDS in the last two years. She said the news is encouraging, but noted that goals are far from being met; above all there is not enough being done to prevent infection from mother to child.

Chan also reported that tuberculosis decreased in some parts of the world, although she warned of new strains of TB that are resistant to known medicines. She was slightly optimistic about malaria, due to measures adopted and logistical support for some African countries.

Prensa Latina