The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the unveiling of a new Operational framework for building climate resilient and low carbon health systems.
Released in the lead up to the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate (COP-28), the comprehensive Framework is designed to enhance the resilience of health systems while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions to help safeguard the health of communities worldwide.
“Around the world, health systems are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but they also contribute to it,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “We therefore have a dual responsibility to build health systems that can withstand climate-related shocks, while at the same time reducing their carbon footprint. This framework gives countries a roadmap for doing just that.”
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The need for climate resilient health systems has never been more critical, especially as global temperatures rise and extreme weather events become increasingly common. And WHO’s Framework provides a visionary path to addressing this challenge, with a core mission to protect and improve the health of populations in the face of an unstable and changing climate.
Moreover, it emphasizes the optimization of resource use and the implementation of strategies to curtail greenhouse gas emissions while continuing to prioritize climate resilience. This Framework presents an opportunity for the health sector to lead by example by reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions – which are now responsible for almost 5% of the global total – while continuing to enhance quality of care.
Among other things, the Framework presents different pathways for health systems to strengthen their climate resilience and decarbonize depending on their overall performance, levels of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change and health capacity.
This includes systems in low-income countries that need to increase energy access and health service provision to provide universal health coverage. Building climate resilient and low carbon health systems contributes to WHO’s commitment to providing safe, quality healthcare services while helping combat the root causes of climate change.
Story was adapted from WHO.
