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Climate action must include healthcare for the most vulnerable

Disease and extreme weather compounding difficulties in delivering aid to millions

This photograph taken on November 4, 2024 shows a general view of dengue ward inside the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital in Dhaka. In a children's ward for dengue in Bangladesh's capital, patients are squeezed two to a bed as cases rise well after the usual season for the potentially deadly mosquito-borne virus. (Photo by Abdul Goni / AFP)

Climate change exposes vulnerable people to greater risk of ill health directly.

PHOTO: AFP

Christopher Lockyear

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As leaders

gather for the 29th climate conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan

this week, they must face the reality that the climate crisis is a health crisis for millions of the most vulnerable people on our ever-warming planet – and that responding effectively means locating health at the centre of discussions, policy and funding decisions.

Recently, I joined participants at the annual Humanitarian Futures Forum hosted by Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies which grappled with trends impacting the future of humanitarian practice. These included the climate change crisis, the erosion of norms protecting civilians and medical care in war, geopolitical re-balancing and the impacts of technology.

Climate action must include healthcare for the most vulnerable

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