- When: Wednesday, April 06, 2022 at 3:00 – 5:00 pm (Pakistan Time) / 10:00 am – 12:00 pm (GMT)
Introduction:
Climate crises have been a matter of debate and great concern for global experts for decades. The growing threats of climate change, global warming and environmental degradation pose severe impacts on human health and consequently health systems. According to World Health Organization (WHO), an additional 250,000 climate-associated deaths per year are expected in the years 2030 to 2050. The pandemic has also gravely affected the capacity of our health systems to cope with climate-related direct or indirect health impacts, efforts and continuity to protect, manage and deliver health to local populations, especially the climate-vulnerable communities.
Renewed Pledge for Climate-resilient Health Systems
During the COP26, held in Glasgow last year field experts called for attention to SDG3 via the COP26 health program. In COP26, world leaders agreed on and pledged to take concrete steps for climate-resilient and sustainable low carbon health systems and advocated swift action for the climate crisis. The populations living in the Global South are more vulnerable to the threats of climate change and face more adverse consequences of climate events due to weaker health systems. In the backdrop of the renewed pledge, efforts to build better health systems need to be focused on the Global South.
World Health Day 2022: “Our Planet, Our Health”
Realizing the need of sustainable health systems further strained by the pandemic, COMSATS is organizing a webinar titled “Building Climate Resilient Health Systems in the Global South”, on Wednesday, 6th April 2022. The global activities on World Health Day 2022 with the theme, “Our planet our health” urge the governments and organizations to become advocates of “act for climate, act for health”.
The webinar will highlight the challenges being faced and the strategic responses to these challenges for formulating the climate-resilient health systems in the vulnerable and neglected region i.e. the global south.
Objectives:
In the wake of the pandemic and post-pandemic scenario, the webinar aims to:
- Assess the challenges faced by the Global South in building resilient health systems
- Highlight adaptation measures and strategic responses, undertaken for sustainable health systems in the Global South
- Propose policy measures and further actions for climate-resilient health systems
Programme:
- Welcome by COMSATS
- Introductory Remarks by Amb. (Retd) Shahid Kamal, Founder, CCCS-COMSATS
- Message by Ms. Xiaojun Grace Wang Deputy Director, United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), NY
- Remarks by Guest of Honor, Dr. James Fong, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Fiji (tbc)
- Dr. Renzo R. Guinto, Director, Planetary and Global Health Program, St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine, Philippines
- “Building Climate-Smart Health Systems in the Era of Planetary Health”
- Ms. Maha Qasim, Environment & Sustainability Consultant, expertise in Climate Change, Environmental Assessment & Management, Health & Social Governance, Pakistan
- “The health impacts of climate change in Pakistan”
- Prof. Gabriel Filippelli, Chancellor’s Professor, IUPUI, Indiana
- “Community-based approaches to integrating Solutions for Climate Change and Air Pollution”
- Mr. Hassan Mowlid Yasin, Executive Director, Somali Greenpeace Association, SomaliaMr. Taniela Soaki, Deputy Director-Public Health Division, of the Pacific Community (SPC), Fiji
- “Climate change and human health”
- Prof. Dr. Nahed Mohamed Mohamed Ismail, Professor of Environmental Biology, Environmental Research Department, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Egypt
- “The impact of water crises and climate changes on the transmission of water-related infectious diseases in Africa”
- Mr Robin Fears, Project Coordinator, InterAcademy Partnership (IAP)
- Climate change and health: using scientific evidence to inform global mitigation and adaptation solutions”
- Dr. Mazen Malkawi, Regional Advisor, Air Pollution and Chemical Safety EMRO, WHO