Call for WHO to recognize climate change as a public health emergency
Researchers and public health professionals emphasize the immediate health threats posed by climate change, especially in Africa, and call on the WHO to declare it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) to mobilize global action and resources.
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Researchers and public health experts have called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare climate change a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), highlighting its severe and immediate impacts on health worldwide, including in Africa.
They point to record-breaking heatwaves, floods, wildfires, and droughts exacerbated by climate change and the current El Niño phenomenon, which have displaced communities and caused significant mortality. In Europe alone, over 50,000 heat-related deaths occurred this past summer, with more than 65% directly linked to climate change.
Studies focusing on Africa reveal far-reaching health consequences, such as adverse effects on pregnant women and children, poor birth outcomes, and challenges faced by healthcare workers caring for vulnerable populations. Despite communities’ awareness of these risks, lack of resources hampers effective adaptation.
The experts argue that the WHO’s declaration would galvanize political will, mobilize financing, and strengthen evidence-based responses to climate-related health crises, addressing the current slow and stalled progress in global climate and health governance.