Dr David Heymann, Professor of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Professor N K Ganguly, former Director-General, ICMR; Dr Palitha Abeykoon, WHO Director-General Special Envoy for COVID-19 Preparedness and Response in the South-East Asia Region; Professor Be-Nazir Ahmed, Country Lead, Accelerating the Sustainable Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), a new programme funded by the UK Department for International Development to control and eliminate NTDs in 12 countries; Professor A P Dash; Officials from Ministries of Health and Ministries of Environment; Members of academic and professional networks working with WHO; Colleagues from WHO, partners and friends,
Good morning and welcome to this World Environment Day celebration. It is a pleasure to host you.
My thanks to Professor Ganguly, Professor Ahmed and Dr Abeykoon, who have so kindly agreed to share with us their expertise and experience.
The theme of this year’s World Environment Day – “Only One Earth” – highlights the importance of living sustainably and in harmony with nature, calling for collective and transformative action on a global scale to celebrate, protect and restore our planet.
It is a message that I fully endorse, and which is well-aligned with the focus of this year’s World Health Day – “Our planet, Our Health”.
The evidence is clear: Biodiverse and well-functioning ecosystems are vital to sustain and enhance human health.
All people must therefore have access to clean air, fresh water, and nutritional security to prevent disease and promote health, and to pursue sustainable livelihoods.
And yet right now, such access is far from universal.
WHO estimates that more than 13 million deaths around the world each year are due to avoidable environmental causes. At least 3.8 million of those deaths are from the South-East Asia Region.
In 2020, around 1 in 4 people globally lacked safely managed drinking water in their homes, and just 50% of health care facilities in least-developed countries provided basic water services.
Globally, over 90% of people breathe unhealthy air, causing around 7 million deaths annually, including 2.4 million in our Region.
Among WHO regions, our Region has the highest estimated number of deaths due to climate change and associated environmental determinants, which disproportionately impact the poor and marginalized, and those at risk of or who are already being left behind.
Today, on World Environment Day, we launch “Keeping the Promise”, a book that documents the tremendous success that countries of the Region have achieved in eliminating communicable diseases.
In the last decade alone, malaria, yaws, lymphatic filariases, trachoma and mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis have been eliminated from one or more geographic areas or countries of the Region.
So why launch this book today, on World Environment Day?
With rising temperatures come rising risks, not only from acute weather events, but from the many environmental determinants of health, including those which impact the risk of pathogens which had once been eliminated or controlled – in particular, vector-borne diseases, enteric infections and diarrheal disease, and parasitic diseases.
In other words, climate change and other environmental determinants threaten to halt or even reverse the Region’s hard-won gains against an array of communicable diseases, which would in turn negatively impact inclusive and sustainable social and economic growth.
I note with commendation: Countries of the Region are already taking measures to address the problem, in line with the 2017 Malé Declaration, the Region’s 2019 Framework for Action on Building Health Systems Resilience to Climate Change, and the One Health approach to addressing health threats at the human, animal and environment interface.
From conducting regular vulnerability assessments, to strengthening climate-sensitive disease surveillance, and including climate variability as an inbuilt risk factor in disease control and elimination programmes, countries are making real progress – progress that is coordinated, and which is part of a cohesive overall strategy to control and eliminate communicable diseases, build health systems resilience, and achieve universal health coverage (UHC).
That message – the importance of cohesive, strategically coherent action – is what I want to underscore today.
In Keeping the Promise I highlight eight key areas of action which must define Region-wide efforts to control and eliminate communicable diseases and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets.
First, linking disease elimination with UHC.
Second, prioritizing multisectoral engagement.
Third, ensuring strong subnational action.
Fourth, ensuring rapid transmission of information.
Fifth, prioritizing disease surveillance.
Sixth, involving communities and people.
Seventh, maximizing access to global public goods.
And eighth, recognizing the rights of affected people and communities.
Each of these areas is aligned with and reflects the Region’s primary health care approach to building health systems resilience and achieving UHC, articulated in our new Strategy for Primary Health Care (PHC) and embedded in our Flagship Priorities and “Sustain. Accelerate. Innovate” vision.
But they also complement and will support the Region’s efforts to prepare for and mitigate the health impacts of climate change and other environmental determinants of health, outlined in our Framework for Action.
As I highlighted on World Health Day, to adequately address the many health challenges we face in the months, years and decades ahead, we must take synergistic and complementary action that strengthens health systems – especially PHC services – and achieves safer and cleaner environments, protecting our planet, our health, and our future.
In our onward struggle against communicable diseases, let us proceed cohesively, coherently, and in a way that accelerates progress across all areas of health, towards UHC and the health-related SDGs.
I wish you engaging deliberations, look forward to coming presentations, and wish you a Happy World Environment Day.
Thank you.