At the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the World Health Organization, in collaboration with the UN Climate Change secretariat and in partnership with the Fijian Presidency of the twenty-third Conference of the Parties (COP23), launched a special initiative to protect people living in Small Island Developing States from the health impacts of climate change.
The problem
Despite producing very little greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, people living in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are on the front line of climate change impacts.
These countries face a range of acute to long-term risks, including extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and cyclones, increased average temperatures and rising sea levels.
Many of these countries already have a high burden of climate-sensitive diseases that are then exacerbated by climate change. These vulnerable populations are unheard, unprotected and under-resourced in the face of escalating climate and pollution risks. Climate change disproportionately affects the poorest, most marginalized, women and children.
The goal
The initiative aims to provide national health authorities in SIDS with the political, technical and evidence and financial support to better understand and address the effects of climate change on health.
This includes addressing climate change impacts on the main determinants of health (i.e. food, air, water and sanitation); improving the climate-resilience and environmental sustainability of healthcare facilities; and promoting climate change mitigation actions by the most polluting sectors (e.g. transport, energy, food and agriculture) to maximize health co-benefits.
The overall aim of the SIDS initiative is to ensure all Small Island Developing States have health systems that are resilient to climate change by 2030.
The initiative has 4 main goals: First, to amplify the voices of health leaders in Small Island Developing States, so they have more impact at home and internationally. Second, to gather the evidence to support the business case for investment in climate change and health. Third, to promote policies that improve preparedness and prevention, including "climate proof" health systems. Fourth, to triple the levels of international financial support to climate and health in Small Island Developing States.
The project
The initiative aims to provide national health authorities in SIDS with the political, technical and evidence and financial support to better understand and address the effects of climate change on health. The initiative will support national and regional partners in SIDS in four key areas:
Empowerment: Supporting health leadership in Small Island Developing States to engage nationally and internationally.
Since the establishment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992, protecting “human health and welfare” has been recognized as a priority in responding to climate change. The Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015, marks a new era, as the first agreement to commit both developed and developing countries to action, based on their own Nationally Determined Contributions. The first page of the Paris Agreement cites “the right to health”, presenting the opportunity to implement the agreement as a public health treaty.
Although health is increasingly recognized in the climate discussions, it is still not routinely recognized as a priority – missing opportunities both to protect health, and to mobilize health as an argument and success measure for climate action. The initiative will support SIDS in strengthening their national capacity and amplifying the voice of national health actors so they can effectively engage in climate change negotiations and processes.
Evidence: Building the business case for investment.
Significant financial sources are potentially available from international climate finance, development banks and others. However, health in general, and SIDS in particular, lack the systematic economic evidence base that is necessary to make their case to potential investors. Knowledge on the interlinkages between climate change and health in SIDS is limited and needs to be constantly improved through research. Furthermore, capacity to undertake research in the area of climate change and health in SIDS should be strengthened.
Implementation: preparedness for climate risks, and health promoting mitigation policies.
The initiative will build on the experience gained in climate and health adaptation projects around the world, applying WHO’s Operational Framework for Building Climate-Resilient Health Systems, for integrating climate risks into the six “building blocks” of health systems (Leadership and governance, Health Workforce, Health Information Systems, Products and Technologies, Service Delivery, and Financing). Furthermore, the initiative will strengthen the role of the health sector in promoting health co-benefits of climate change mitigation actions implemented by those sectors more responsible for global warming.
Resources: Facilitating Access to Climate and Health Finance.
Financial resources will be essential to protect the health of people living in Small Island Developing States. Ministers of Health have prioritized the need to expand and diversify the funding streams potentially available to build health resilience to climate change.
Partners
The central principles of the initiative are country ownership, and an open partnership for delivery supported by WHO.
A wide range of national health actors, civil society health groups, development agencies and other UN agencies are already making important contributions to protect health in SIDS. Furthermore, within the framework of health in all policies, the current initiative aims to strengthen the role of the health sector in promoting health in health-determining sectors such as environment, energy, transport, urban planning, and food. Strategic partnerships will be promoted and strengthened. The initiative aims to be an inclusive partnership that brings together existing and new efforts, and scales them up for more effective protection.
The future
By 2030, all health systems in Small Island Developing States are resilient to climate variability and change, and countries around the world are reducing carbon emissions both to protect the most vulnerable from climate risks, and to gain the health co-benefits of mitigation policies. Success will be achieved when national health agencies have clear guidance on the approaches and interventions that will have the greatest and most sustainable impact in protecting health from climate-related risks, and enough financial resources and the political will to implement them are mobilized.
Read More
Publication - Climate change and health in Small Island Developing States
Regional Plan of Action for SIDS in the African and South East Asian Regions