As we mark World Health Day under the theme ‘Our Planet, Our Health’, we are reminded of the urgency to catalyse ambitious targets to build low-carbon and climate-resilient health systems to enable net zero emissions and ensure the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
By Dr Ruth Kattumuri, Senior Director - Economic, Youth and Sustainable Development, Commonwealth Secretariat
One key learning from the experience with the COVID-19 pandemic is understanding the inseparable interconnection between human and planetary health. Global public health responses have highlighted the increasing frequency and complexity of interactions and trade-offs between a globally-connected society and nature.
The trade-offs between public health, environmental health, and economic and social prosperity, have been felt most acutely in cities. Environmental pollution from human activities, encompassing air, land and water, represents a major threat to public health and the climate.
Growing health burden
Air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year evidencing linkages to health conditions such as cancer, and chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, especially prominent in vulnerable groups including children and the urban poor. The incidence of non-communicable diseases is particularly high among Commonwealth countries, with 36 per cent of the world’s cancer cases and 39 per cent of related deaths occurring among our members.
Alongside the burden of diseases, the operational challenges of waste management from essential health systems have emerged as a major issue. For example, the COVID-19 crisis caused a surge in the essential global need for personal protective equipment (PPE). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates around 87,000 tonnes of PPE were procured from March 2020 to November 2021 as part of UN emergency support. Almost all of this is expected to become waste.
Overall, the growing health burden due to the pandemic created an estimated increase of up to ten times in healthcare facility waste loads. Single-use plastics such as gloves, masks, and more, present a persistent threat to land and marine biodiversity. Similarly, the over eight billion vaccine doses delivered reflect an additional 144,000 tonnes of waste glass vials, needles, and packaging. Health system decarbonisation is needed to ensure environmental integrity and sustainably manage environmental pollution.
Our Planet, Our Health
Now, more than ever, we must take urgent action, to protect both human and planetary health. As we mark World Health Day under the theme, ‘Our Planet, Our Health’, we are reminded of the urgency to catalyse ambitious targets to build low-carbon and climate-resilient health systems to enable net zero emissions and ensure the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) last year, we committed to the vision of a healthier, sustainable Commonwealth and are now taking concrete steps to implement actions suggested under the Glasgow pact.
This agenda is at the heart of the Commonwealth’s mission. With 32 of the world’s 42 small states as our members, we are at the forefront of the global struggle to tackle climate change.
Health solutions
Our first step is to ensure that our existing resources are used effectively to achieve our goals. Our flagship Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub is helping countries to secure funding for climate change projects; the Commonwealth Blue Charter supports Commonwealth countries to work together on a fair, inclusive and sustainable approach to ocean protection and economic development; and our new Voluntary Information Price Sharing Database provides an easy-to-access platform for countries to exchange information about their medical supply and procurement.
These are among the Commonwealth Secretariat’s initiatives that can be used to fund and facilitate environmentally-sustainable health solutions. What is clear is that collaboration, innovation (including projects highlighted by the Earthshot Prize), and financing, are crucial to building a robust global health system that protects our planet for the future.
This World Health Day provides an important opportunity to reflect on the interconnectedness of planetary and human health. As leaders prepare their agenda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Ministers Meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda this June, we hope that together we can re-imagine a world defined by health and well-being, human rights, and climate resilience. This World Health Day let each one of us commit to joining together to bring positive change for our planet and our health!
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Media contact
- Angela Kolongo Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
- E-mail | +44 7587 881503
