Importance of Health Day at COP28

New Delhi: In a historic move, the COP28 UAE Presidency, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) is hosting the first ever Health Day at a COP on Sunday, to explore the climate-health nexus and pledge action on climate-induced health crises across the planet.

A day earlier, on Saturday, the COP28 Presidency joined with the WHO to announce a new 'COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health' (the Declaration) to accelerate actions to protect people’s health from growing climate impacts. The Declaration, signed by 123 countries including India, marks a world first in acknowledging the need for governments to protect communities and prepare healthcare systems to cope with climate-related health impacts such as extreme heat, air pollution and infectious diseases.

"The climate crisis is a health crisis, but for too long, health has been a footnote in climate discussions," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO.

"We welcome the #COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health that emerged from the call by countries for a strong health sector response to climate change and #ClimateAction," he said.

Director-General of the WHO said: "123 countries endorsed it -- this is an unprecedented show of support for the health community. But this is only the beginning. We must continue with our ambition to deliver #HealthForAll." According to Chhavi Bhandari, Head, Impact and Engagement (India and Multilaterals), at the George Institute India, ‘Health Day at COP28’ marks "a significant milestone in the collaboration between health and climate communities".

"The first-ever COP Climate-Health Ministerial presents a crucial opportunity to enhance the integration of health and climate decision-making. Unfortunately, climate and health considerations, which are inherently intertwined, frequently remain compartmentalised" Bhandari said.