"The pandemic is a reminder of the intimate and delicate relationship between people and the planet. Any efforts to make our world safer are doomed to fail unless they address the critical interface between people and pathogens, and the existential threat of climate change, that is making our Earth less habitable."
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Address to the 73rd World Health Assembly. May 18th, 2020.
The side event "Together for a healthy, resilient, and green recovery" was organised by IFMSA, Karolinska Institutet, UNDP, UNFCCC, UN OCHCR and WHO at the margin Stockholm+50 international meeting (June 2-3, Stockholm, Sweden). It brought together various UN agencies, NGOs and academic institutions working on the intersection between the human right to health, environment and sustainable development to discuss and elevate the 6 Prescriptions of the WHO Manifesto for a healthy recovery from COVID-19 .
1) Protect and preserve the source of human health: Nature.
2) Invest in essential services, from water and sanitation to clean energy in healthcare facilities.
3) Ensure a quick healthy energy transition.
4) Promote healthy, sustainable food systems.
5) Build healthy, liveable cities.
6) Stop using taxpayers money to fund pollution.
The six prescriptions of the Manifesto are accompanied by over 70 Actionables, or practical steps, for implementing the Manifesto and creating a healthier, fairer and greener world while investing to maintain and resuscitate the economy hit by the effects of COVID-19. Policy makers, national and local decision-makers, as well as a wide array of other stakeholders wishing to contribute to a healthy recovery, can now take decisive steps by shaping the way we live, work and consume.
Recognizing the importance of environmental determinants for both physical and mental health, a new WHO policy brief on mental health and climate change was launched on the occasion of the side event, highlighting the importance and opportunities for action to protect mental health from the impacts of climate change.
Speakers of the side event included:
- Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, Co-Founder of Ella Roberta Family Foundation
- David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment
- Mohamed Eissa, IFMSA Liaison Officer for Public Health Issues
- Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General
- Dr. Maria Neira, WHO Director, Environment, Climate and Health
- Dr. Anders Nordström, Ambassador for Global Health at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, former Acting Director-General of WHO
- Prof. Dr. Ole Petter Ottersen, President of Karolinska Institutet
- Cristina Romanelli, WHO Climate Change, Biodiversity and Health Focal Point
- Sam Williams, Global Youth Mobilization, Project Co-Lead
- Dr. Naoko Yamamoto, WHO Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage - Healthier Populations
Recording of the side event can be accessed on this page and on the Stockholm+50 website.
Stockholm+50
“Stockholm+50: A healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity” is a two-day international
meeting that will be convened on June 2-3 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the UN Conference on the Human Environment, which took place in Stockholm, Sweden in June 1972. It contributes to the environmental dimension of sustainable development
and seeks to accelerate the implementation of commitments in the context of the Decade of Action for delivering the Sustainable Development Goals.