By Faridat Salifu
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently unveiled its “2023 Review of Health in Nationally Determined Contributions and Long-Term Strategies,” echoing the crucial imperative of prioritizing public health in national initiatives to combat climate change.
This release precedes the UN Climate Change Conference (COP-28) and underlines the immediate need to place people’s well-being at the forefront of global efforts.
Human health is already bearing the brunt of climate change, evident in the surge of illnesses linked to extreme weather events, the heightened prevalence of vector-borne diseases, and the exacerbation of cardiovascular and respiratory conditions due to extreme heat and air pollution.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, emphasized the interconnectedness of human and planetary health, stressing the urgency of taking immediate action to protect lives, prevent diseases, and build healthier and more equitable societies.
Encouragingly, the integration of health considerations into nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and long-term low emissions and development strategies (LT-LEDS) has made significant progress.
Currently, 91% of available NDCs include health considerations, a notable increase from the 70% reported in 2019. Climate targets and policies are increasingly incorporating health aspects, spanning mitigation, adaptation, means of implementation, Loss and Damage, and long-term sustainable development strategies.
Despite this progress, significant gaps persist, particularly in the domain of air pollution mitigation. Only 16% of NDCs explicitly include targets, measures, or policies to mitigate air pollution, prompting Dr. Maria Neira, WHO Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change, and Health, to emphasize the urgency of scaling up commitments.
Dr. Neira stressed the need to accelerate initiatives that provide an inclusive response, protecting the health and livelihoods of both current and future generations.
WHO has highlighted the critical importance of sustainable climate finance to facilitate health adaptation, mitigation, and climate-resilient development.
Notably, health-specific climate action remains underfunded, with only a fraction of adaptation funding allocated to projects directly addressing human health.
In response to these challenges, WHO is calling on multilateral climate financing mechanisms to allocate increased resources to initiatives explicitly aimed at enhancing human health in the context of climate change.
Demonstrating its commitment to this cause, WHO is collaborating with the COP28 Presidency to lead the first-ever dedicated day to health at COP on December 3, 2023. This initiative aims to underscore the urgent necessity of accelerating health-focused climate action at every level.
WHO reaffirms its unwavering commitment to assisting countries in navigating the complex intersection of climate change and public health, advocating for comprehensive strategies that safeguard the well-being of global populations.