United Nations — The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN’s body on climate science, has over the years, repeatedly and steadily reported on the science of global warming leading to the changing climate with visible impacts.
IPCC Assessment Reports, particularly the Sixth Assessment chapter on health and well-being (AR6, 2021-2022), highlight an increased burden of climate-sensitive diseases, rising demand for emergency and preventive care, and health system disruptions as some of the direct impacts of climate change on primary health care.
Hope and Despair at UNGA80
On the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80) in New York, during NY Climate Week, the health sector, as they have done recently, showed up to highlight these climate-health realities for global leaders.
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As the UN Secretary-General convened over 120 heads of state and ministers at the UN Climate Summit, where over 100 countries pledged to update their national climate commitments ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the health sector followed keenly and pointed out the importance of health inclusion in climate action plans, popularly known as the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s Paris Agreement.
However, this positive mood was dampened by one of the world’s major emitters, the United States’ absence on the list of progress. Reason? President Donald Trump does not believe in the concept of Climate Change.
And he reminded the global community of his opinion during his address to UNGA, when he continued on his anti-climate change trajectory, referring to climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”
But as they did in President Trump’s first term when his administration actively rolled back climate regulations, including pulling the US from the Paris Agreement, climate campaigners have yet again responded with defiance.
Africa’s Call for Equity and Justice
Women advocates participated in a Climate Action event during UNGA80. Credit: Friday Phiri
“Such statements are scientifically false and morally indefensible. For millions of Africans, climate change is not a debate. It is a daily reality. When powerful leaders mock the climate emergency, they undermine the global solidarity urgently needed to save lives and livelihoods,” commented Mithika Mwenda, Executive Director of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance.
Amref Health Africa’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Githinji Gitahi, echoed this urgency, noting that communities across Africa don’t need science to be convinced about the climate crisis, as it is their daily lived reality. Referencing the Lusaka Agenda, which calls for aligning global health financing with country priorities, and the Belem Action Plan Summary Version, which outlines concrete adaptation actions for health resilience, Gitahi outlined Africa’s concrete policy asks–integrating health into NDCs, prioritizing climate-health financing, and ensuring equity in negotiations and climate action.
“It is unfortunate that countries that contribute a paltry 4 percent of global emissions are asked to do more,” said Gitahi. “It is for this reason that at Amref, we place equity and justice at the core of our programming. Communities most affected–women, children, youth, pastoralists, and those in informal settlements–not only require support to adapt but are also best positioned to shape meaningful solutions. We cannot afford to get sidetracked and dwell on climate science, which is clear as day.”
In fact, for communities in Africa, they don’t need science to be convinced about the climate crisis–it is their daily reality. They don’t have to wait for meetings and discussions like this one to decide on their fate. But even as they adapt using their means, our asks are clear: strengthening primary health care through climate-resilient infrastructure, early-warning systems, surveillance, and community-centered adaptation solutions.
A panel discussion on Africa’s Primary Healthcare equity at UNGA80. Credit: Friday Phiri
The key to all these objectives lies in integrating health in climate plans to not only unlock financing but also support integrated implementation of climate action, particularly for health-determining sectors such as agriculture and water, among others, that have a direct bearing on health outcomes.”
Health sector’s call for strong leadership on the climate crisis
Multilateralism continues to be under serious pressure, and President Trump’s tirade on climate change exemplified the continued geopoliticking and outright mistrust in global processes.
“We want to raise the ambition, because we are in a crisis. We need leaders to be in crisis mode about the science that is guiding us. It’s guiding us on health, but somehow, leaders are ignoring the science,” said Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland, pointing out that leaders hold the key to rebuilding multilateralism and galvanizing investment and action for the interconnected pressing threats overwhelming the health sector.
And in keeping with the leadership, on the sidelines of UNGA80, stakeholders took time to highlight the importance of women leadership for climate action, in view of gender-differentiated impacts of climate change.
“It is generally agreed that climate impacts are gender-differentiated. Women and girls often bear higher risks from climate change impacts–yet they remain on the sidelines in key discussions and policy decisions,” said Desta Lakew, Amref Health Africa Group Director for Partnerships and External Affairs.
Speaking at a roundtable co-organized with Women in Global Health and Pathfinder International, Lakew called for deliberate efforts to let women take the lead. “It is time we let women lead, as their active participation leads to interventions that reach the people most affected and therefore deliver stronger resilience for communities.”
Brazil Takes the Lead
Despite the noted gloomy picture resulting from climate denialism and dwindling multilateral trust, the health sector is determined to ensure climate and health are not left behind. And Brazil, the COP30 Presidency Designate, is already supporting the agenda.
Through the Belem Climate and Health Action Plan, which is set to be tabled at COP30, Brazil has outlined adaptation solutions, encompassing health surveillance, technological innovation, and the strengthening of multi-sectoral policies, to build climate-resilient health systems. It proposes a global collective effort for health and seeks the voluntary adoption by UNFCCC Parties and the endorsement of civil society and non-state actors.
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“Don’t tell me there’s no hope at all; together we stand, divided we fall,” said Mariângela Batista Galvão Simão, Secretary of Health and Environmental Surveillance at Brazil’s Ministry of Health. “Discussions can’t start with financing. You need to have a solid plan and the Belem Climate and Health Action Plan will bring together health and climate agendas in Belem, including surveillance and monitoring as the first line of action.”
In the words of Dr. Agnes Kalibata, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, “For every family that goes to bed hungry, for every child deprived of nutrition… the pace of global climate action remains painfully inadequate. This inequity is not only a moral failing; it is a direct threat to global security and stability.”
Therefore, as the global community heads to COP30, Africa is calling for health inclusion in NDCs for evidence policy and implementation, financing for climate-resilient primary health care in the context of adaptation support rooted in equity and historical responsibility as enshrined in the UNFCCC, and community-centered solutions with women and youth taking the lead.
IPS UN Bureau Report
