Excerpt from who.int

This week, over 40 000 delegates – including world leaders, United Nations (UN) officials, climate experts, journalists, representatives from nongovernmental organizations and youth advocates – have gathered at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. Together, they are evaluating progress and tackling urgent climate challenges projected to cause 14.5 million additional deaths and US$ 1.1 trillion in extra costs to health-care systems. With a strong focus on climate finance, COP29, known as the “Finance COP”, aims to secure greater financial commitments – including in global health – to aid communities at risk from vulnerabilities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, and other high-level UN and government officials are at COP29 calling for financial commitments and urgent actions to improve health facilities’ resilience to climate change. The WHO Western Pacific Region includes 37 countries and areas, including large Asian countries and small Pacific islands that are particularly vulnerable to climate change.

Across the Western Pacific Region, rising sea levels, extreme weather events and environmental degradation pose serious risks to health infrastructure and community well-being. The toll of climate inaction is striking – an estimated 3.5 million lives are lost each year to environmental causes in the Western Pacific Region alone.