Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has advocated for a re-imagining and re-prioritisation of resources to usher in sustainable, well-being societies
In its message to mark this year’s World Health Day, WHO called for accelerated action by leaders and all people to preserve and protect health and mitigate the climate crisis.
It said the theme of this year’s commemorative event marking the organisation’s founding day
“Our planet, our health” fell at a time of heightened conflict and fragility.
WHO noted that 99 per cent of people breathe unhealthy air mainly resulting from burning of fossil fuels.
“A heating world is seeing mosquitos spread diseases further and faster than ever before. Extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, land degradation and water scarcity are displacing people and affecting their health.
“Pollution and plastics are found at the bottom of our deepest oceans, the highest mountains, and have made their way into our food chain and blood stream.
“Systems that produce highly processed, unhealthy foods and beverages are driving a wave of obesity, increasing cancer and heart disease while generating up to one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions,” it said.
WHO expressed concern that the health and social crisis was compromising people’s ability to take control over their health and lives.
“The climate crisis is a health crisis: the same unsustainable choices that are killing our planet are killing people,” said WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
He added: “We need transformative solutions to wean the world off its addiction to fossil fuels, to reimagine economies and societies focused on well-being, and to safeguard the health of the planet on which human health depends.”
The world health body further stated that, “COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the fault lines of inequity across the world, underlining the urgency for creating sustainable, well-being societies which do not breach ecological limits and which ensure that all people have access to life-saving and life-enhancing tools, systems, policies and environments”.
WHO’s Manifesto to ensure a healthy and green recovery from COVID-19 prescribes protecting and preserving nature as the source of human health; investing in essential services from water and sanitation to clean energy in healthcare facilities; ensuring a quick and healthy energy transition; promoting healthy and sustainable food systems; building healthy and livable cities; and stopping the use of taxpayers’ money to fund pollution.
