Climate change, pollution and health

WHA77 Constituency Statement on Agenda Item 15.4:
Climate change, pollution and health, Impact of chemicals, waste and
pollution on human health, Climate change and health
The non-state actors (NSAs) supporting this constituency statement include:
1. Global Health Council (GHC)
2. Humatem
3. International Association for Suicide Prevention
4. International Confederation of Midwives
5. International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science (IFBLS)
6. International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO)
7. Medicines for Malaria Venture (MVV)
8. Pasteur Network
9. Sabin Vaccine Institute
10. Sightsavers (The Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind)
11. The Task Force for Global Health
12. Women Deliver
13. Women in Global Health
14. World Medical Association (WMA)
The interplay between climate change and health has reached a critical point that demands
action. Not only does the climate crisis induce and exacerbate physical and mental health
emergencies, it also jeopardizes the achievement of Universal Health Coverage and the
Sustainable Development Goals.
The world must prioritize investment in comprehensive, equitable, gender-responsive,
climate-resilient, and sustainable health systems, tools, and workforces capable of
implementing interventions against climate-related health risks.
Member States must also prioritize multi-sectoral coordination and collaboration via a One
Health approach to address collective human, environmental, and animal health challenges,
and commit to developing and deploying national action plans focused on mitigation and
adaptation to climate hazards, including health threats.
Resilient health systems, including the health workforce, are essential to responding to the
impacts of climate change, promoting community resilience, and ensuring continued delivery
of comprehensive essential health services in the wake of climate-driven health threats.
Investing in the community health workforce is crucial for addressing the health impacts of
climate change, as they provide essential care to vulnerable and marginalized communities,
which face the greatest threat from climate-related health challenges.
Special attention is needed to promote resilience and to protect the health and rights of
vulnerable and marginalized groups and communities, particularly women, pregnant persons,
newborns, and children from extreme heat, adverse environmental factors exposure, and
malnutrition due to climate change.
Member States must also rapidly increase investment in the following areas:
• The R&D pipeline, including local manufacturing of sustainable, appropriate health
equipment and technology, particularly for low-resource settings;
• Global supply capacity for infection prevention and control measures, like medicines
for climate-associated vector-borne diseases; and
• Access to safe and sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene.
These investments are necessary to uphold the promises of the Paris Agreement and the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and must be urgently undertaken
and with meaningful civil society engagement. As the proposed resolution on climate change
and health is considered at this World Health Assembly, we urge all Member States to adopt
it in its most robust and ambitious form.
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