DTMT Network

A group of 50 countries has pledged to develop low-carbon climate and resilient healthcare systems at the ongoing United Nations climate change conference (COP26) in Glasgow a statement released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

The pledge came in response to growing evidence of the impact of climate change on the health of people worldwide.

As many as 45 of these countries have promised to transform their healthcare systems to be more sustainable and low-carbon, the statement noted.

“The future of health must be built on health systems that are resilient to the impacts of epidemics, pandemics and other emergencies, but also to the impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events and the increasing burden of various diseases related to air pollution and our warming planet,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

“Health systems must also be part of the solution, by reducing carbon emissions. We applaud those countries that have committed to building climate-resilient and low-carbon health systems, and we hope to see many others following their lead in the near future,” he added.

Countries including Argentina, Fiji, Malawi, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America and 39 more have committed to achieving low-carbon, sustainable health systems.

Countries that have pledged to enhance the climate resilience of their health systems include Bangladesh, Ethiopia, the Maldives, the Netherlands, and 45 others.

The assurances from the countries come after a recent WHO survey shows that the majority of countries now include health in their national climate plans to the Paris Agreement, the statement noted.