DUBAI – The Assistant Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Rhonda Sealey-Thomas, has urged countries of the Americas to ensure the health impacts of climate change are taken on board as they continue to rebuild and strengthen health systems in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Rhonda Sealey-Thomas (Photo courtesy of the PAHO)Speaking at the “Health and Climate Change in the Americas: How to protect people’s health in the climate crisis,” , held on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), the Antigua and Barbuda national noted that in the Americas, the effects of climate change “are amplified by deficiencies in infrastructure and health systems to promote health, prevent diseases and effectively respond to crises, disasters, and emergencies.”
She said climate change not only exacerbates existing health threats, but also has a disproportionate impact on communities in situations of vulnerability, as well as those living on the frontlines of climate change, including small island states of the Caribbean.
The PAHO Assistant Director underscored the agency’s work to support countries of the Americas to develop climate-resilient health systems, including through the strengthening of health surveillance systems and the creation of Climate and Health Observatories and Climate Health Early Warning Systems.
But she urged member states to strengthen their actions to “better protect our health, that of future generations as well as the health of our planet”.
The importance of this work was also underscored by several PAHO member states during discussions at COP28.
During COP28, PAHO representatives also met with Afke Van Rijn, the Director General of Environment and International Affairs at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands to discuss the CFIT Pact, an international partnership that aims to accelerate the sustainable production and use of information technology products.
PAHO said that this would enable it to help reduce its carbon footprint when it comes to supporting the strengthening of health infrastructure and the digitization of health systems.
