Giving Compass' Take:

· According to new research conducted in sub-Saharan Africa, severe droughts caused by climate change can cause an increase in HIV infection rates. 

· What are some other ways climate change influences health? What is being done to address these issues? 

· Check out this article to see the relationship between climate change and public health. 

Teenage girls growing up in areas hit by harsh drought and other climate shocks in Lesotho are more likely to drop out of school, start having sex earlier and contract HIV, researchers said.

In a study looking at the link between climate change and HIV infection since antiretroviral treatment drugs became widely available in sub-Saharan Africa, researchers found that severe drought threatens to drive new HIV infections.

In the urban areas of Lesotho researchers looked at, droughts were linked to an almost five-fold increase in the number of girls selling sex and a three-fold increase in those being forced into sexual relations.

Such findings mean climate shocks — which can bring displacement, loss of income and other problems — threaten to undermine progress made in HIV treatment, said Andrea Low, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs at Columbia University.

"I think the real concern is that we have gained a lot in terms of epidemic control ... but there is always a possibility to lose all those gains if a lot of people are displaced due to climate extremes (and) forced migration," she said.

Read the full article about climate shocks and HIV rates by Inna Lazareva at Global Citizen.