Today's Edition
ISIDORA CIRIC (DUBAI)
The 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), hosted by the UAE, marked a historic moment in the fight against climate change. Dr. Maria Neira, Director of Public Health, Environment, and Social Determinants of the Health Department at the World Health Organisation (WHO), told Aletihad that this edition of COP saw significant focus placed on the intersection of health and climate action for the first time.
This was embodied through the first-ever health theme at COP28, hosted by the UAE, in collaboration with the WHO. Neira emphasised the significance of this event, stating: “This was really an historic day, for the first time ever, we were waiting until COP28 to finally have a health theme. We are very grateful to the UAE.”
This initiative is notable not only for bringing together more than 50 ministers of health, who typically do not attend COP meetings, as Neira mentioned, but also for achieving a Climate and Health Declaration signed by 134 member states. The Declaration aims to place health at the heart of climate action and accelerate the development of climate-resilient, sustainable, and equitable health systems.
Neira highlighted the importance of this achievement, saying: “The voice of the health communities is finally heard now. And that means that the urgency and the ambition of the actions we need to take will change completely.”
Discussing the real-world implications of the health declaration, Neira emphasised the newfound engagement and empowerment of health ministers in climate discussions.
“The fact that the ministers have signed this declaration means that they are now engaged, and empowered by what that means to be at COP - we think that this health argument can be very powerful as well at the country level,” she explained.
The WHO’s strategy revolves around using health as a powerful motivator for accelerating climate action, Neira explained, stressing that climate impacts also highly affect human health.
“When our citizens understand that this is not just about the planet, the polar bears, the glaciers, the different type of ecosystems, when they understand that this is about our ecosystem and our human health, I think that the speed will be completely different,” she said, noting that this approach would bring about a sense of urgency to climate negotiators and foster quicker action.
Neira provided an overview of the WHO’s objectives and activities, noting that the organisation represents not only itself, but also the global health community at COP28. This includes numerous NGOs, academic institutions, bilateral groups, and a vast network of health professionals.
She mentioned that over 40 million health professionals joined the efforts by signing a call for action which WHO brought to COP28, signaling a significant commitment from the health sector. The focus now shifts to scaling up action, with an emphasis on creating climate-resilient health systems and reducing the carbon footprint of the health sector.
Neira pointed out the need for financial support to cope with climate-sensitive diseases, displacement, malnutrition, and the increase in infectious diseases. She stated: “We need the financial support to make sure that those climate-resilient systems will be climate resilient.”
The WHO also aims to decarbonise the health system and deploy healthcare facilities with access to clean energy sources, like solar panels. Addressing the challenges beyond finances, Neira expressed serious concerns about air pollution, its overlap with climate change sources, and the resultant health impacts.
“We are terribly concerned about air pollution... we have 7 million premature deaths every year caused by exposure to such air,” she said. The WHO is also focused on addressing mental health issues, vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue, the impact of heatwaves, and the consequences of extreme meteorological events, Neira added.
Regarding the WHO’s role in monitoring and evaluating the progress of health-related initiatives post-COP28, Neira confirmed the organisation’s commitment. “We are already working with the countries,” she said, adding that the WHO aims to scale up indicators related to interventions at the country level, and hopes to incorporate a health-related indicator into the COP28 negotiations to better measure advances. The UAE’s recent pledge of $100 million for research in combatting tropical diseases was highlighted as a commendable initiative.
Neira said that she sees this as an opportunity for strategic alignment in health system support, emphasising the need for substantial resources. “We need big amounts of resources... and we need other countries to join,” she stated, underlining the need for global collaboration in tackling health issues exacerbated by climate change. Looking beyond COP28, Neira expressed optimism about continued collaboration between the WHO and the UAE.
“I hope that our collaboration will continue because first of all, the Presidency will be last for one more year,” she said, noting that the continuation offers a chance to maintain the momentum generated at COP28 and keep health at the forefront of the climate agenda.
Demonstrably, COP28 has marked a turning point in integrating health into the climate conversation. The integration of health and climate action, as seen through the involvement of health ministers and the signing of a health declaration, indicates a holistic approach to tackling the challenges posed by climate change.
As we move forward, the collaborative efforts of countries and organisations like the WHO and the UAE will be crucial in addressing the intertwined challenges of global health and climate change, since, according to the WHO’s website, between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 000 additional deaths per year, from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, and heat stress alone.
The efforts and commitments made at this conference, as outlined by Neira, underscore the growing recognition of the intertwined nature of climate change and global health, setting a new precedent for future climate action.
