The process of desertification presents a serious impact on the well-being and health of the people living in the areas affected by droughts and land degradation on an unprecedented global scale. The worst situations can be found in Africa, which is threatened because the land degradation processes affect about 46 percent of the whole continent and create a health risk to people living in the regions far beyond the affected areas. Asia, on the other hand is the most severely affected continent in terms of the number of people affected by desertification and drought.

Dryland populations are often marginalized and unable to play a role in the decision making processes that affect their well-being, making them even more vulnerable. In drylands, people depend on ecosystem services for their basic needs, which in turn are dependent on water availability and climate conditions. The extent ofthe health impact depends on a complex mix of factors involving a population’s vulnerability and on pre-existing conditions, including age, gender, disability, genetics, immune status and access to health services. In arid, semi-arid and drysub-humid areas, desertification and drought are directly linked to food and water shortages, conflicts, mass migration, increased risk of
fires and limited access to health care.

Desertification is the permanent decrease in biological productivity of dryland areas. Drylands comprise 41% of the earth’s land area and are home to roughly 2 billion people, or 34% of the earth’s population. Currently, over 250 million people in more than 100 countries are directly affected by desertification and more are at risk. The situation is most severe in Africa, where 66% of the total land area is arid or semi-arid. Not only is desertification harmful to the earth and its inhabitants, but it is also expensive – each year, the world loses US$42 billion to desertification and its effects.
The causes of desertification are both natural and man-made. Drought, rain patterns, increasing global temperatures and climate change contribute to the drying out of already arid lands, but these areas are also extremely sensitive to human activity. 10-20% of drylands are already severely degraded and some reports trace 70% of soil degradation to human-induced reasons, particularly population growth, agricultural technologies, and unsustainable policies. These factors degrade the land and create feedback effects that result in the loss of biodiversity as well as other negative outcomes
that affect us all.