Climate Change and Health: Enhancing Resilience in Fragile Systems

Background: Climate change represents one of the most pressing public health challenges of the 21st century, with fragile and conflict-affected contexts experiencing disproportionate impacts. Libya, situated within the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa climate hotspot, faces intensifying hazards including prolonged droughts, extreme heat, desertification, and catastrophic flooding. These environmental stresses converge with structural vulnerabilities-such as degraded infrastructure, weak governance, limited disease surveillance, and protracted political instability all of which undermine health system resilience. Methods: This study employs an integrative review of peer-reviewed literature, gray reports, climate-health datasets, and comparative evidence from the wider MENA region to assess climate-sensitive health outcomes and systemic vulnerabilities in Libya. Results: Findings indicate escalating risks of vector-borne and waterborne diseases, respiratory illness driven by deteriorating air quality, heat-related morbidity and mortality, food insecurity, and under-recognized mental health consequences. The 2023 Derna floods exemplify the compounded effects of climate shocks and governance fragility, highlighting critical deficiencies in preparedness and response. In the light of these findings, this paper advances context-specific adaptation strategies, including development of...