“We cannot outrun climate change, but we can address its impact on health”: How WHO is taking urgent action in the Western Pacific
MANILA – Across the Western Pacific Region and globally, climate change is no longer a distant worry, it’s an everyday emergency threatening lives and health. On the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, we are reminded that building resilience saves lives.
When Typhoon Yagi tore through swathes of the Region last year, health facilities were among the structures severely damaged, with medical supplies and vaccines destroyed. In other corners of the Region, families displaced by floods struggled to find clean water as powerful winds, heavy rains and rising rivers destroyed sanitation and sewage systems and swept away roads and homes.
“These are not isolated stories; they are increasingly our new reality,” said Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific. “Every storm, every flood, every wildfire, every extreme summer and winter tell us the same thing: the climate crisis is a health crisis. We cannot outrun climate change, but we can address its impact on health. We must act more urgently to protect people by making health systems better prepared, stronger and safer. This is why we’re putting climate-resilient health systems within the broader ecosystem of climate and health high on the agenda at our upcoming 76th Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, urging Ministers of Health and other policymakers to find solutions that benefit health for all.”
Jeopardizing health on the front lines
The climate crisis amplifies existing health risks, including heatstroke during record-breaking heatwaves, triggering disease outbreaks after floods, exacerbating hunger from disrupted food systems. It’s undoing hard-won health gains, with the most vulnerable communities paying the highest price.
Small island developing states in the Pacific and globally, among the least responsible for global emissions, face the greatest danger. By 2050, sea levels could rise by up to 30 centimeters, putting many health facilities underwater.
A regional plan to save lives
To respond, WHO, in consultation with Member States across the Region, has developed a regional implementation plan for climate change and health system resilience. This roadmap, complementing the WHO Global Action Plan on Climate and Health 2025-2028, prioritizes urgent steps to:
· Strengthen high-level national and regional mechanisms on climate change and health, and put health at the core of climate action.
· Establish regionalized alliance (ATACH) networks and expand membership and participation.
· Make health-care facilities climate-resilient and safe so they can function even during disasters.
· Train health workers in sustainable practices without compromising care.
· Strengthen disease surveillance and early warning systems for climate-sensitive diseases.
· Secure financing for health sector adaptation and mitigation efforts.
To complement this framework is a new five-year wider strategy to address the nexus of climate and health, spearheaded by the WHO Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health (ACE), hosted in Seoul by the Republic of Korea. The ACE Strategy will also be launched at the Regional Committee, providing a holistic picture of how WHO can work with its 38 Western Pacific countries and areas to effectively tackle and mitigate the harms of the climate crisis from the perspective of health at the national, regional and community levels.
“Health systems must heal, not harm, and lead by action,” said Dr Sandro Demaio, Director of ACE. “By making hospitals greener and more resilient, and by using clean energy, securing food systems, and preparing better for climate risks from rising sea levels to mounting weather-related disasters, we can save lives today and tomorrow.”
Next stop: Regional Committee Meeting
The draft plan on climate-resilient health systems has received strong support from countries. It will now be tabled for endorsement at the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, happening between 20 and 24 October in Nadi, Fiji, an annual gathering where WHO Member States come together to shape the future of health in the Region.
WHO remains committed to working with countries and partners to “weave health for all,” reflecting its regional vision that interlaces efforts, resources, and expertise to protect health, keep the Western Pacific safer, and serve the more than 2.2 billion people who live in this vast region.
For more on the 76th WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, visit: https://www.who.int/westernpacific/about/governance/regional-committee/session-76