Strengthening Health Resilience to Climate Change

This consise (24 p.) technical briefing was compiled for the WHO conference on health and climate and offers a current (2015) overview over the adaptation requirements in the health sector. It will be most useful for decision makers and experts on the national level and beyond. However, the synopsis of health risks and countermeasures is a valuable screening help for stakeholders at the subnational level, too.

The briefing covers the whole range of essential adaptation issues, notably:

• Current and expected health impacts of climate change, including confidence assessments
• Additional reasons for concern
• Equity, gender and vulnerable populations (including promoting gender equity while responding to climate change)
• Child health and climate change
• Role of the health sector
• Health engagement in iterative, multi-sectoral adaptation
• Building climate-resilient health systems
• Health governance and policy
• Human resources for health
• Information systems and other essential products and technologies
• Financing
• Challenges and opportunities
• Raising awareness and ensuring policy coherence
• Capacity building
• Mobilizing resources and supporting implementation