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The UN's July 2025 policy brief underscores the severe health impacts of land degradation and drought
The document links the ecological disasters to diseases like cholera, malaria, and respiratory conditions
It highlights mental health issues due to displacement and resource scarcity
UN calls for integrated policies and innovative financial support to combat these ecological challenges
The United Nations released the policy brief Health impacts of land degradation and drought in July 2025. The document identified the connection human health has with land degradation, desertification and drought.
It highlighted the major diseases that can result from such ecological disasters, like cholera, malaria, cardiovascular ailments, respiratory conditions and malnutrition. The impact may even cast effect on mental health disorders like “anxiety and depression due to displacement and resource scarcity”, added the document.
Droughts may cause morbidity and mortality due to the prevailing heatwave conditions and even may destroy the healthcare system, according to the brief.
Common skin and eye diseases like trachoma, scabies and conjunctivitis are found to be widespread during droughts due to water scarcity.
Land degradation may lead to hypertension, heart attacks, stroke, and heighten the risks of cancer and mental health disorders.
The policy brief presented a similar pattern of spatial distribution of Aridity Index (1991-2020) and burden of malnutrition (expressed by stunting) in children under five in low- and medium-income countries (2016-2018). India, along with major countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, showed a major impact on health due to droughts and desertification.
The reasons behind this connection are well-known. Malnutrition and mental ailments may be directly caused by crop loss and low agricultural yield during droughts and subsequent displacement of communities.
Further, as the quantity and quality of water deteriorates during droughts, waterborne diseases raise their ugly heads.
Sand or dust storms and wildfires during extreme dry conditions often lead to respiratory diseases.
Outbreaks of zoonotic diseases like Ebola and Covid-19 may occur due to land use changes and biodiversity losses.
Poor soil health can engender diseases like anthrax or soil-transmitted ailments.
Increase in vector borne diseases are observed due to change in habitat of disease-carrying organisms like mosquito.
The brief portrays the example of increased mental distress due to prolonged drought in Australia, particularly in the rural areas, where individuals are bogged down by financial constraints and are forced to take food of low nutrition. It mentioned that around $198 billion is the projected health cost by 2050 due to the mental stress and anxiety related to droughts.
The document also cites examples from Zambia, where pregnant mothers were unable to add maize to their diet due to increased prices during the drought, caused stunting in infants aged 6-16 weeks.
India has envisioned a Farmers’ Distress Index (FDI), according to Lok Sabha answers in March 2025. FDI, a user-friendly planning tool, can provide three months advance alert to the stakeholders. The tool can address the cause of farmers’ distress, while also developing measures to tackle the distress.
Exposures to droughts, floods and cyclones, financial constraints, isolation, loneliness and depression are some of the indicators of FDI.
The policy brief has provided a set of recommendations to the policymakers and stakeholders to tackle desertification, land degradation and drought and their health impact in an integrated way.
The key recommendations included integrated policies, promotion of gender equity, strengthening community resilience, focusing on research and capacity building.
UN also pushed for innovative financial support for healthy land and strategically targeted financing for health sectors. The need for bridging gaps across global organisations like UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the World Health Organization was also talked about in the document.
Interventions for land restoration, sustainable water management, agriculture and early warning systems are the need of the hour, according to the policy brief. Emphasis has been made “One Health Approach”, which had been recognised by UNCCD as interconnection between ecosystem, animal and human health.
Final summary: The United Nations' policy brief from July 2025 underscores the severe health repercussions of land degradation and drought, linking them to diseases such as cholera, malaria, and cardiovascular issues. It highlights the mental health impact, including anxiety and depression, due to displacement and resource scarcity. The brief calls for integrated policies and innovative financial support to combat these ecological challenges.