Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, April 6: The World Health Organization on Wednesday called for prioritising equitable health and accelerating steps to protect ecological systems and health to build well-being societies, with climate change emerging as humanity’s single greatest threat and nearly 13 million lives lost every year due to avoidable environmental causes.
“Climate change is putting the health, well-being, and sustainable development of billions of people across the region and the world at risk. It imperils decades of progress in reducing disease-related morbidity and mortality. We must act now to keep humans and our planet healthy,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region.
Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is anticipated to result in an additional 250 000 deaths each year. The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging governments and individuals to take steps to protect ‘Our Planet, Our Health,’ the theme of World Health Day 2022.
The WHO South-East Asia Region, which is home to over 2 billion people, is particularly vulnerable to climate change and has the greatest estimated number of climate-related mortality.
Climate change-related extreme rainfall, frequent floods, forest fires, and droughts are already having an impact on health and livelihood, causing massive suffering, mental health concerns, deaths, and relocation worldwide and in the Region.
WHO is urging countries to prioritise equitable health for current and future generations, including long-term investments, well-being budgets, social protection, and legal and fiscal strategies that will allow societies to thrive and fulfil everyone’s right to health and development while also protecting the environment.
