I was pleased to engage with the global virtual launch of the 2025 Global Report of The Lancet Group Countdown on Health and Climate Change yesterday, where world leaders and experts came together around a truth that defines our shared future, that the health of people and the health of the planet are inseparable.

This year’s analysis, prepared by 128 experts across 71 institutions and United Nations agencies, presents the most comprehensive assessment to date of how climate change is reshaping human survival. The findings are stark, heat-related mortality has risen by nearly a quarter since the 1990s, as wildfires, droughts, vector-borne diseases, and food insecurity intensify.

At the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, we witness this intersection daily across the continuum of care, where environmental disruption deepens maternal, neonatal, and child health risks. The climate emergency has become the defining determinant of global public health, demanding responses that unite science, systems, and society.

The launch featured distinguished contributions from Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Rt Hon. Helen Elizabeth Clark, Rt Hon. Julia Gillard, Dr Marina Romanello, and Professor Stella Hartinger, followed by an insightful panel with Dr Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet, Dr Mariângela Simão, Secretary of Health at Brazil’s Ministry of Health, Dr Raji Tajudeen, Deputy Director General Africa CDC, Laura Clarke CEO of ClientEarth, and Dr Jeremy Farrar, Chief Scientist, WHO, who together highlighted that advancing planetary health is both a scientific and moral imperative.

As we look toward COP30 Brasil, this report stands as both a compass and a conscience, urging leaders to place health at the heart of climate negotiations. I commend all contributors for their leadership in aligning science, governance, and global action toward a healthier, more sustainable world.