Climate Change Is Making Us Sick, Says WHO Envoy

The World Health Organization says round 7 million people die prematurely each year due to air pollution. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPSBy Busani BafanaBULAWAYO, Aug 2 2023 (IPS) Climate change is making us sick. It has become urgent to build resilient health systems to secure humanity’s well-being, says the special envoy for climate change and health of the World Health Organization (WHO). “Climate change is unquestionably affecting our health every day,” says Vanessa Kerry– a renowned global health expert and medical doctor – who was appointed the WHO Director-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health in June. She has a tall order to amplify WHO’s climate and health messaging and conduct high-level advocacy on tackling climate change to secure global health. Increasing Disease Burden “The climate crisis is a health crisis,” Kerry told IPS in an interview, calling for urgent action to mitigate and adapt to the climate challenge, which has increased the burden of disease around the world. “Climate change poses a fundamental threat to our health. We are  looking at the growing burden of disease, so urgent action is absolutely needed at this  moment not only to address the pipeline of disease that is coming but to ensure that we can mitigate some of the causes of this poor health and  adapt to the complex challenge.” Vanessa Kerry. Credit: Seed Global Health According to the WHO, one in four deaths in the world currently is from preventable e...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Climate Action Climate Change Editors' Choice Featured Global Headlines Health TerraViva United Nations IPS UN Bureau IPS UN Bureau Report Source Type: news