I was proud to join longstanding The Wellbeing Foundation Africa partners, Reckitt on their high-level roundtable to determine the next steps towards building equitable, sustainable, climate-resilient health systems and mobilise vital investment in the sector, held at Goals House, on the margins of COP28 UAE.

Climate resilient health systems are the backbone of health equity, yet global health systems are under unprecedented strain. Progress towards health equity has stalled, with one in two people around the world still lacking access to basic healthcare. Coming together with a diverse group of health experts to explore how we can rethink healthcare delivery, I emphasised the need for investment in training more community health workers to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change on the frontlines through behavioural change and climate literacy.

Already one in four deaths are attributed to preventable environmental causes, with the World Health Organisation estimating at least 250,000 people will die each year due to climate change. The WorldBank estimates that up to 132 million people will fall into poverty by 2030 due to direct health impacts of climate change, and approximately 1.2 billion people will be displaced by 2050.

As we mark the first ever Health Day at COP 28 today, we must be resolute in our determination to address the challenges posed to health by climate change and encourage ambitious investment in the health sector, to foster systems which can withstand the impact of climate change.

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