Dr. Arvind Kumar*
With the U.S. retracting its financial support for the World Health Organization (WHO), the global health landscape faces an uncertain future. This decision raises critical questions: How essential is sustainable health for global stability and development? Can nations in the Global South, already grappling with resource constraints, sustain health advancements without external funding? Moreover, how do environmental factors like air, water, soil, and food quality intersect with human health outcomes? A holistic and transdisciplinary approach is imperative to address these challenges. Climate change is deeply connected to public health, affecting the basics we rely on like clean air, safe water, nutritious food, and securing shelter.
This environmental crisis is systematically weakening key social foundations like livelihoods, equality, healthcare, and social support, hitting the most vulnerable hardest, women, children, ethnic minorities, poor communities, migrants, the elderly, and threatens to undo decades of progress in global health. The latest IPCC report warns that climate risks are unfolding faster and hitting harder than expected, with 3.6 billion people already living in high-risk areas. Despite contributing the least to global emissions, countries in the Global South and small island states face the worst health impacts. In fact, the death rate from extreme weather events in vulnerable regions over the past decade was 15 times higher than in less vulnerable areas. The statistics paint a stark picture of global health inequity.
Currently, 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and 600 million suffer from foodborne illnesses annually, with children under five accounting for 30% of related deaths. In 2024, 770 million people faced hunger, mostly in Africa and Asia. Climate change is making this worse; higher temperatures and changing rainfall patterns are driving disease spread and worsening food security. Malaria and dengue already cause over 700,000 deaths each year, a figure that could rise without action. Human-induced climate change is linked to 37% of heat-related deaths, with fatalities among those over 65 increasing by 70% in the past two decades. The WHO predicts that by the 2030s, climate change could cause an additional 250,000 deaths annually from diseases and flooding. Yet, some risks like drought and migration pressures are still hard to predict.
Implications for WHO
The WHO has historically played a pivotal role in coordinating international health efforts, through frameworks like the “Global Framework for Integrating Well-being into Public Health” and the “Operational Framework for Climate Resilient and Low Carbon Health Systems,” which address environmental health risks and advocate for universal health coverage. WHO provides technical and financial support to developing nations, helping them build resilient healthcare systems and mitigate climate-related health risks. However, the U.S. withdrawal from WHO funding has weakened global health responses, creating a significant financial gap that threatens progress in vulnerable regions. Global financial institutions like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are stepping in with initiatives such as funding health infrastructure projects and climate-resilient programs. For instance, the World Bank has financed projects to improve healthcare access in low-income countries, while the ADB supports climate adaptation in health systems. To sustain these efforts, innovative financing models, including public-private partnerships and global health bonds, are essential to ensure long-term support for sustainable health initiatives worldwide.
How India is bridging this gap?
India offers an instructive example of addressing health and environmental challenges through coordinated policy initiatives. The government has implemented key programmes which targets reducing air pollution in cities, while the Jal Jeevan Mission aims to provide clean drinking water to all households by 2025. Sustainable agriculture is also in focus with the Soil Health Card Scheme and Organic Farming Mission, improving food quality and reducing chemical exposure. Health initiatives like Ayushman Bharat have set up over 1.72 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs by March 2024, improving rural healthcare access. The National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) has generated 6.64 crore digital tokens across 17,481 facilities by November 2024, enabling electronic health records and telemedicine. The Union Budget 2025-26 prioritizes preventive care, focusing on cancer treatment, taxing ultra-processed foods to fight obesity and diabetes, and exempting life-saving drugs from customs duty.
While progress is notable, challenges remain—especially in strengthening rural healthcare, managing climate-driven health risks and mitigating corruption and fraufulent activities in schemes like Ayushman Bharat. Advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning are being employed to enhance fraud detection and maintain the integrity of the scheme.
India’s integrated approach aims to align environmental sustainability with health improvements for long-term, sustainable outcomes. Many of the challenges described might seem obvious. However, despite being informed, actors in the field seldom go beyond words. As health ministers gather in Geneva for the World Health Assembly this May, there’s a critical opportunity to address the intersection of climate and health. Governments need to prioritize integrating climate data into health decisions and mobilize more resources to prevent millions of climate-related deaths and limit global warming to 1.5°C. This means pushing for actions that cut carbon emissions while improving health like transitioning to clean energy, embedding health in climate policies, and accelerating mitigation strategies with the biggest health benefits. Building climate-resilient and sustainable health systems is key, ensuring that core health services, environmental sustainability, and climate resilience are central to universal health coverage (UHC) and primary health care (PHC).
Call to Action
Protecting health from climate impacts requires assessing vulnerabilities, developing health plans, and creating climate-informed surveillance for risks like extreme heat and disease. Strengthening resilience in sectors like water and food and closing the financing gap for health adaptation are critical. Strong leadership is needed to raise awareness about the health impacts of climate change and embed health in climate policies through UNFCCC. Partnering with major health agencies and civil society can drive action toward climate-neutral health systems by 2030. A global network of experts should monitor progress, provide evidence-based guidance, and help nations enhance their health systems’ climate resilience. Capacity building and direct support for health ministries through updated guidance, training, and project funding are essential for achieving low-carbon, climate-resilient health systems. Sustainable health requires collective action. We must form equitable partnerships and engage in reciprocal learning across sectors. We must comprehensively approach the 2030 Agenda, acknowledging that SDGs are interlinked and that our health is inseparable from the health of the planet.
*Editor, Focus Global reporter
