Many countries ‘unsupported and unprepared’ to address climate health risks: WHO

The 2021 WHO wellness and clime alteration planetary survey report, which covers 95 countries, recovered lone astir a 4th person been capable to afloat instrumentality nationalist wellness and clime alteration plans oregon strategies. 

Other large barriers to advancement see the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, arsenic good arsenic insufficient quality resources. 

Biggest menace to health 

The study was launched astatine the COP26 UN clime alteration league successful Glasgow, Scotland, which aims to bounds planetary somesthesia emergence to 1.5 degrees Celsius successful enactment with the Paris Agreement. 

Dr. Maria Neira, WHO Director of Environment, Climate Change and Health, said the survey highlights however galore countries are near “unsupported and unprepared” to woody with the wellness impacts of clime change.  

“We are present astatine COP26 to impulse the satellite to amended enactment countries successful need, and to guarantee that unneurotic we bash a amended occupation of protecting radical from the biggest menace to quality wellness we look today,” she said. 

A wide case 

The study was archetypal published successful 2019 and this 2nd variation provides a invaluable snapshot of the wide advancement governments person made successful addressing the wellness risks of clime change. 

For Dr. Neira, the “health arguments” for accrued clime enactment are precise clear, arsenic it is the astir disadvantaged groups successful nine who are astatine top risk, specified arsenic taste minorities, mediocre communities, displaced people, older persons, and women and children. 

“For example, astir 80 per cent of deaths caused by aerial contamination could beryllium avoided if existent aerial contamination levels were reduced to the WHO Air Quality guidelines,” she said. 

Challenges to progress 

Insufficient concern remains the apical situation facing countries, according to the report.  Some 70 per cent person cited it arsenic a stumbling block, up from 56 per cent 2 years ago. 

Human assets constraints came successful second, with astir 1 3rd of countries identifying “lack of intersectoral collaboration” arsenic a cardinal barrier. 

At the aforesaid time, COVID-19 has slowed advancement towards addressing clime change, due to the fact that wellness unit and resources had to beryllium diverted to pandemic response.  WHO said the situation continues to endanger efforts to program and hole for climate-related impacts to health. 

Remove the barriers 

The study besides pointed to affirmative developments, arsenic implicit three-quarters of countries surveyed person devised, oregon are devising, nationalist wellness and clime alteration plans oregon strategies. 

“The situation present is to region the barriers that are preventing countries from finalizing and implementing plans,” said Tara Neville, Technical Officer astatine the WHO Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health and pb writer of the survey report. 

Around 85 per cent of countries present person a designated focal constituent liable for wellness and clime change, located successful their wellness ministries.  Additionally, wellness ministries successful 54 per cent person established related task forces, committees, oregon different “stakeholder mechanisms”. 

Meanwhile, astir two-thirds of countries person conducted a clime alteration and wellness vulnerability and adaptation assessment, oregon person 1 underway, portion virtually all, 94 per cent, person incorporated wellness considerations into their clime ambition plans, known arsenic NDCs, nether the Paris Agreement. 

However, the study besides drew attraction to what WHO has labelled “a imaginable missed opportunity” to optimize the wellness benefits of adaptation and mitigation efforts successful different sectors.   

These could person fed into a affirmative post-pandemic recovery, the UN bureau said, arsenic issues that find wellness - specified arsenic education, equity, gender, municipality readying and adjacent proscription systems - were represented successful less than fractional of the established multi-sectoral tools astatine governments’ disposal.