As part of its call to action, the World Health Organization (WHO) published an alarming report, noting that 99% of people breathe unhealthy air – resulting mainly from burning fossil fuels. Furthermore, each year, more than 13 million deaths worldwide are attributable to preventable environmental causes.

” The climate crisis is a health crisis: the same unsustainable choices that are killing our planet are killing people »said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Health and social crises

The United Nations health agency has warned that, in an increasingly warming world, mosquito-borne diseases are spreading further and faster than ever before.

Extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, land degradation and water scarcity drive population displacements and affect health, while pollution and plastics found deep in the oceans and on the tallest mountains in the world are increasingly found in food chains.

In addition, systems that produce highly processed and unhealthy foods and beverages are driving increases in obesity, cancers and heart disease, while producing a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse effect.

The impact on migrants

For the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), António Vitorino, migrants may be particularly vulnerable to the direct and indirect effects of climate change on health, due to a lack of access to health care and social services, poor working and living conditions, or limited access to rights and level of inclusion in host communities.

Many migrants moving in the context of climate change, environmental degradation and disasters also have specific physical and mental health needs that relate to their exposure to climatic and environmental conditions. he.

This displacement is expected to increase, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia, if climate action is not taken.

The Covid-19 Factor

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed inequalities around the world, revealed weaknesses in all areas of society and underlined the urgency of creating “well-being-oriented societies” and sustainable, who are committed to ensuring equitable health today and for future generations without exceeding ecological limits.

We must ensure that everyone has access to tools, systems, policies and environments that save or improve lives, WHO said.

The WHO Manifesto for a healthy and green recovery from the pandemic prescribes protecting and preserving nature as the primary source of human health.

It calls for investing in essential services – from water and sanitation to clean energy in healthcare facilities –, ensuring a rapid and healthy energy transition, promoting healthy and sustainable food systems, to build healthy and livable cities and to prevent taxpayers’ money from financing pollution.

Finally, the Geneva Charter for Wellbeing, resulting from the 10th Global Conference on Health Promotion held in Geneva on December 13-15, 2021, highlights the global commitments needed to achieve equitable health and social outcomes today. today and for future generations, without destroying the health of our planet.

A sustainable way of life

As part of its World Health Day campaign, “Our Planet, Our Health”, WHO is calling on governments, organizations, businesses and citizens to share the steps they are taking to protect the planet and human health.

” We need transformative solutions to wean the world off its dependence on fossil fuels, to reimagine well-being economies and societies, and to preserve the health of the planet on which human health depends. »underlined Mr. Tedros.