Minister of Health Dr. Abdulla Khaleel has stated that the Maldives called for conducting research to discover the link between climate change and its effects on the health of citizens of nations such as the Maldives at the 28th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28).
Speaking to PSM News after returning to the Maldives, Minister Khaleel said that the Maldives shared its plan to achieve the sustainable development goals at COP28. He said they also raised awareness and held discussions on climate change mitigation and discussed measures to address the adverse impacts of climate change on health.
At COP28, Minister Khaleel attended the World Health Organisation (WHO) Informal Meeting of the Members of the Executive Board. The main areas of discussion was on WHO Governance reform and Election processes of Regional Directors.
Minister Khaleel also participated in the First Climate-Health Ministerial meeting at COP28. Speaking at the event, he stressed on the vulnerability Maldives and other small island developing states face due to low-lying geography and reiterated the need for a concerted effort to minimize the climate related health impacts.
Additionally, 123 countries backed the Climate and Health Declaration to accelerate actions to protect people’s health from growing climate impacts. The Declaration covers a range of action areas at the nexus of climate and health, including building more climate-resilient health systems, strengthening cross-sectoral collaboration to reduce emissions and maximize the health benefits of climate action, and increasing finance for climate and health solutions. Signatories have also committed to incorporate health targets in their national climate plans and improve international collaboration to address the health risks of climate change, including at future COPs.