WHO calls for urgent and radical action on climate change

For the first time in 16 years, the World Health Assembly adopted a new WHO resolution on climate and health at the end of May.

The resolution singles out climate change as one of the biggest threats to global public health. The World Health Assembly is composed of health ministers from the 194 WHO member states and is the highest decision-making body of the organisation. WHO resolutions are not legally binding but encourage and facilitate countries to implement the organisation’s policies.

The recently adopted resolution points out that extreme weather events are happening with increasing frequency and that they harm people’s well-being, livelihoods and their physical and mental health. They also threaten health systems themselves, as well as biodiversity, ecosystems, food supply, air quality, access to water and safe drinking water. Diseases that are spread through food, water and vectors, such as ticks or mosquitoes, are on the rise.

The situation requires urgent and radical action. But this is not something the health sector can do on its own. There are frequent calls for cross-sectoral action throughout the resolution. WHO member states are encouraged to promote collaboration across sectors of society to address the links between the environment, economy, health, nutrition and sustainable development. They are also urged to develop an all-embracing strategy to build resilience and address the root causes of climate change and climate-related, environmental and social impacts on health.

Countries are also asked to strengthen the implementation of the WHO strategy on health, environment and climate change through Health in All Policies (HiAP). These policies consider all health impacts and promote health equity in decisions that relate all areas of society, including transport, education, employment, housing, taxation, urban planning and land use.

In the same spirit, it is noted that climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss and malnutrition require coordinated action based on a whole-of-government, whole-of-society and one-health approach. Whole-of-government involves collaboration between different departments and public administrations. Whole-of-society involves all stakeholders, including individuals, organisations, businesses, etc., while one-health focuses on the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental health.

A significant part of the resolution is about limiting the contribution of health systems themselves to environmental pollution and greenhouse gases. Health systems are reported to account for roughly 5% of global carbon emissions. Countries are invited to engage with the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH), which is led by the WHO and provides a platform for sharing knowledge on how to make health systems sustainable and climate resilient.

Another priority is tackling health inequalities, which are exacerbated by climate change. The resolution stresses the importance of including and considering the needs of those who are disproportionately affected and in vulnerable situations, especially women and girls, when designing climate action and health systems.

Additional measures that member states are encouraged to commit to include:

• promoting awareness among the public and health sectors of the interdependencies between climate change and health, engagement in climate and health policy making, and recognition of the health benefits of sustainable behaviour,
• supporting efforts to develop resources for integrated action on climate and health, and considering scaling up multilateral funding aimed at developing countries, especially those most vulnerable to climate change,
  promoting research and development to detect, prevent, test for and treat climate-induced diseases and health impacts, and facilitating equitable access to such tools for the most affected communities.

The resolution is welcomed by the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA), a coalition of more than 160 health organisations and networks around the world. Rosie Tasker, Clean Air Liaison at the GCHA, says on the alliance’s website that the resolution shows “a clear political commitment by governments and WHO to scale up climate action as a public health priority”. However, the GCHA is missing some crucial issues.

“Most notably the resolution lacks any mention of how fossil fuels are driving the climate crisis, or the need for a just transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy as a public health imperative,” says Rosie Tasker. She also argues that the text is vague on the question of integrating the climate into national health policies and health into national climate strategies. In addition, she points out that important vulnerable groups such as the young, the elderly, LGBTQIA, refugees and migrants are not mentioned in the resolution.

“To ensure that the health and climate response is equitable and just, these especially vulnerable groups must be explicitly addressed by government plans and policies,” says Rosie Tasker.
The WHO will develop a global action plan on climate change and health, and report on the implementation of the resolution to the World Health Assembly in 2025, 2027 and 2029.

The author is a freelance science writer and journalist