From Climate Awareness to Health Action – Part2 – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1338

Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1338 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here.

Credit: Robin Erino

Preamble

The 2026 Lancet Countdown report on health and climate change brings the issue much closer to home. It makes a compelling case that climate change is already a major threat to human health, affecting how people live, work, eat, breathe and survive.

Titled “A Decade of Escalating Health Harms and a Decisive Moment for All,” the report marks ten years since the Paris Agreement entered into force. It brings together the work of 146 researchers from more than 100 institutions across over 30 countries. Its 54 indicators examine the health consequences of climate change and the effects of actions taken to address it. 

Part 2 of 2: What Governments, Healthcare Systems Must Do Next

The 2026 Lancet Countdown report on health and climate change delivers an unmistakable message: the health consequences of climate change are accelerating, and the global response remains inadequate. Its findings should prompt a fundamental change in how governments, healthcare institutions and businesses approach climate policy.

For too long, climate change has been treated primarily as an environmental or energy-policy issue. The 2026 report argues that health must become a central objective of climate action.

This is an important shift. It means that the success of climate policies should not be measured only through reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. It should also be measured through lives saved, diseases prevented, healthier communities and stronger healthcare systems.

Recognise Climate Change as a Global Health Emergency

The report's authors call for climate change to be formally recognised and addressed as a global health emergency. This is not simply a symbolic declaration.

Recognition would help place climate-related health risks higher on international and national policy agendas. It could strengthen coordination between health ministries, environmental authorities, emergency-management agencies and international organisations. It would also encourage governments to treat extreme heat, drought, flooding, food insecurity and climate-sensitive disease risks as interconnected public-health priorities.

The report recommends developing a new WHO instrument to formally recognise and address climate change as a global health emergency. The underlying principle is that climate change should no longer be managed exclusively through environmental departments. Health ministries must become central participants in climate decision-making.

Put Health at the Centre of Climate Policy

Governments should assess climate policies not only by their environmental effects but also by their consequences for human health.

Consider the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy. It can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it can also improve air quality and reduce the burden of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Similarly, investment in urban green spaces can help reduce temperatures, improve air quality and encourage physical activity. Improved public transport can reduce emissions while making cities more accessible and reducing exposure to traffic-related pollution. The health benefits of climate action should therefore become a formal part of national development planning.

Build Climate-resilient Healthcare Systems

Healthcare systems must be prepared to operate under increasingly difficult environmental conditions. Hospitals and clinics need reliable electricity, adequate water supplies, effective cooling, emergency communication systems and resilient supply chains. They also need plans for managing increased demand during heatwaves, floods and other climate-related emergencies.

The report identifies progress in national health adaptation planning, but the coverage remains incomplete. By 2025, only 56 of 194 WHO member states had a national plan for adapting health services to climate change. This indicates a significant preparedness gap.

Establish Effective Early-warning Systems

One of the most practical interventions is the development of climate-informed health early-warning systems. These systems combine weather information, health surveillance and emergency planning to identify risks before they become serious.

The report notes that countries with health early-warning systems are seeing benefits, including a slowing of the increase in deaths from extreme weather events. These systems are particularly relevant for countries with limited healthcare resources because timely warnings can prevent illness and reduce pressure on hospitals.

Address the Financing Gap

Climate adaptation requires resources. Hospitals need resilient infrastructure. Communities need safe drinking water and sanitation. Governments need early-warning systems, trained personnel, health surveillance and emergency-response capabilities.

The report highlights a serious financing gap. Based on estimates from 48 developing countries, the minimum annual cost of their quantified health adaptation needs was approximately US$3.3 billion. Yet only around US$1.1 billion was committed in 2024. The report therefore calls for increased grant-based and highly concessional finance for climate and health interventions.

This is especially important for developing countries that have contributed relatively little to global emissions but face substantial climate-related health risks.

Additional climate-related debt could make already difficult public-finance situations worse. International financing should therefore be accessible, predictable and directed towards the countries and communities with the greatest needs.

Make Climate and Health Data a Public Resource

Good decisions require reliable information. Governments need to understand where climate-related health risks are concentrated, which populations are most vulnerable, which interventions work and where resources should be allocated.

The Lancet Countdown recommends establishing a global climate change and health data commons. This would strengthen access to information and improve collaboration between researchers, governments and healthcare institutions.

Developing countries also need more research capacity. The report notes that although funding for climate-related health research increased substantially between 2016 and 2024, approximately 84% of this funding went to researchers in the wealthiest countries. This imbalance leaves important evidence gaps in countries that may face some of the greatest risks. Research funding should better reflect the geographical distribution of climate vulnerability.

A New Opportunity for Healthcare Leadership

The report also presents an opportunity for healthcare leaders to rethink their responsibilities.

Traditionally, healthcare organisations have focused on treating illness after it develops. The changing climate makes prevention, preparedness and community resilience increasingly important. Hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, medical associations, universities and public-health organisations need to work together. The healthcare sector can contribute to public education, research, climate-resilient infrastructure and the development of more sustainable healthcare delivery models. It can also become a stronger advocate for policies that protect human health.

This is not an argument for turning every healthcare organisation into an environmental campaigner. It is a recognition that environmental conditions increasingly influence the health outcomes that these organisations are responsible for improving.

Sum Up

The 2026 Lancet Countdown report presents a difficult but important conclusion. The evidence linking climate change and human health is increasingly compelling. Some progress has been made, but the pace and scale of action remain inadequate.

The report calls for six broad priorities: recognise climate change as a global health emergency, strengthen international coordination, accelerate fair reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, put health at the centre of climate action, establish a global climate-health data resource and increase grant-based climate-health financing.

The ultimate measure of climate policy should not simply be how much carbon we remove from the atmosphere. It should also be how many lives we protect, how much illness we prevent and how effectively we safeguard the health of future generations.

Concluded.

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For most blogs, I research from several sources which are open to public. Their links are mentioned under references. There is no intent to infringe upon anyone’s copyrights. If, any claim is lodged, it will be acknowledged and duly recognized immediately.

Reference:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)01779-4/fulltext