As climate negotiations continue in the Amazon city of Belém, Brazil, governments, UN agencies and partners have adopted the Belém Health Action Planwith a focus on addressing health care inequities.
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A planet on the way to “intensive care”
The adoption took place on the day designated by the COP. Health Day – a recognition that the climate crisis is also a health crisis.
“If our planet were a patient, it would be admitted to intensive care,” the World Health Organization said (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on the eve of the conference.
Extreme heat, floods, droughts and storms are not only environmental threats: they cause disease outbreaks, food and water insecurity and the disruption of essential health services.
A patient recovering from fistula repair surgery is examined in the recovery ward of Dayniile Hospital, Mogadishu, Somalia.
Resilience plan
Developed by WHO, the United Nations University (UNU) and other UN partners in collaboration with the Brazilian government, the Action Plan sets out practical steps to integrate health into climate strategies.
- Strengthening health systems resist climatic shocks
- Mobilizing finance and technology for adaptation and
- Ensuring communities have a voicepromoting their participation in governance.
Brazilian Health Minister Alexandre Padilha described the launch as “a crucial moment to demonstrate the strength of the health sector in global climate action.”
Civil society demonstration at COP30
Solution Center
Thursday’s high-level sessions in the main conference halls are dominated by speeches and discussions on climate and health – but throughout COP30, the WHO-led health pavilion has been the hub of solutions and dialogue.
Topics covered in the pavilion range from AI to waste management, employment, education and human rights, all from a health perspective.
Friday at the pavilion will be dedicated to Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Healtha WHO-led initiative to accelerate the transition to climate-resilient, low-carbon health systems.
Food waste breakthrough
Also today, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and its partners have launched an initiative to halve food waste by 2030 and reduce methane emissions by up to seven percent as part of efforts to slow climate change.
UNEP notes that the world wastes more than a billion tonnes of food each year, accounting for up to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and up to 14 percent of emissions of methane, a short-lived climate pollutant that is 84 times more potent in warming the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over 20 years.
Funded by the Global Environment FacilityThe United Nations Environment Program will launch a four-year, $3 million global project to implement the Food Waste Breakthrough goals.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
