WHO Advocates Unified Health and Environment Efforts on World Environment Day

The WHO has called for enhanced collaboration between health and environment sectors to tackle common challenges. On World Environment Day, WHO Regional Director Saima Wazed highlighted the need for policies prioritizing sustainability, land restoration, and climate resilience. She emphasized the detrimental impact of climate change on health and regional economies.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) advocated for stronger collaboration between the health and environment sectors to address interconnected challenges. Speaking on World Environment Day, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia Saima Wazed stressed the need for policies that prioritize environmental sustainability and public health.

Wazed underscored the importance of research and innovation in developing sustainable healthcare practices. 'Our region records the highest number of deaths from climate change annually among all WHO regions,' she noted, highlighting the urgent need to combat climate change and biodiversity loss, which threaten health, the regional economy, and livelihoods.

Celebrated annually on June 5, World Environment Day focuses this year on land restoration, halting desertification, and building drought resilience under the slogan 'Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration.' Wazed emphasized mitigating the impacts of air pollution, hazardous chemicals, and strengthening healthcare facilities' resilience to climate change. She called for integrating health impact assessments into land use planning and implementing sustainable infrastructure in healthcare to contribute to land restoration efforts. Community-based health promotion and training healthcare workers in climate adaptation were also emphasized.