At COP29, PAHO warns that failure to focus on people in vulnerable situations will exacerbate health inequities – PAHO/WHO
Baku, Azerbaijan/Washington, DC, November 22, 2024 – At COP29 this week, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) highlighted the importance of focusing on the needs of vulnerable populations when implementing policies to address the health impact of climate change.
Speaking at the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), which took place from November 11 to 22 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Gerry Eijkemans, Director of the Department of Social and Environmental Determinants for Health Equity, He stressed that “we have learned a lot from the lessons of COVID-19, and we saw that if we do not put a special focus on these populations, inequalities will be exacerbated in what “regards health and climate change.”
For Eijkemans, while these issues are gaining more attention, there is still much to be done. “It is crucial that we focus on the conditions in which people live and how these conditions make them vulnerable to climate change. If we don’t do it from the beginning, we will leave a lot of people behind.”
To address this situation, at the 61st PAHO Directing Council in October 2024, Member States adopted a new Policy to strengthen health sector action aimed at equity in climate change and health.
The policy, which calls for a strong focus on equity in actions related to climate change and health, aims to strengthen the health sector and improve climate change adaptation and mitigation. The policy also focuses on ensuring the participation of vulnerable communities, optimizing surveillance systems and increasing climate and health financing.
Climate change and health in the Americas
The Americas are one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change due to their susceptibility to extreme weather events, economies that depend on climate-sensitive sectors, and high levels of social inequality.
Extreme events can damage health care infrastructure, hampering service delivery during and after disasters, particularly in the Region’s small island developing states (SIDS), which are particularly susceptible to hurricanes and floods.
Over the past two decades, heat waves have caused a 160% increase in heat-related deaths in the Americas. The Region has also experienced an increase in vector-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria. This is likely due to a rise in temperature that has caused disease vectors to spread to new areas. As a result, 2023 was a record year for dengue in the Americas, with cases exceeding 4.6 million. This figure was already exceeded during the first half of 2024.
In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Special Initiative on Climate Change and Health in Small Island Developing States. As part of this global initiative, PAHO prepared the Caribbean Action Plan on Health and Climate Change in consultation with Member States and Caribbean territories.
This Action Plan has four main strategic lines:
- Empowerment, to support health leadership in the Caribbean to engage at the national and international level.
- Evidence, to better understand, prepare and respond to the health impacts of climate change.
- Implementation, to build climate resilient health systems and mitigation actions that promote health.
- Resources, to increase climate change and health financing.
At COP29, PAHO co-organized with WHO two events at the WHO Pavilion: Building health sector resilience in small island developing States (SIDS); and Equity considerations in health sector actions on climate change and health.
