*Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)
Welcome to journalists across the Region who are joining us on World Health Day.
Each year on 7 April, we use World Health Day to highlight an issue on which we need to work to achieve better health.
During the last two years of COVID-19 we have learned a lot, especially that when health is at risk, everything is at risk. Health and peoples’ lives and the broader wellbeing of the society are inextricably linked.
Our health and wellbeing are also closely linked with the planet’s health. The UN Secretary General labelled the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC Report, as a “code red for humanity”. It is also a code red for health, because climate change affects health in many different ways.
If we don’t take action today, we are risking our health in the future. That is why the theme of this year’s World Health Day is “Our planet, our health,” which highlights the interconnectedness between our own health and the health of our planet.
There is no denying that climate change is the one of the biggest crises facing humanity today. It is also a health crisis. Countries and areas in this Region – particularly Pacific islands – are on the front lines.
Changes in rainfall patterns, rising sea levels and increasing frequency and severity of tropical storms threaten access to fresh water, reduce the land suitable for growing healthy food, and increase the risk of waterborne, vector-borne and foodborne diseases.
Extreme weather events such as droughts, heatwaves, typhoons, floods and wildfires, are affecting people’s health in various parts of the Region. And in addition to that, global warming consequences of burning of fossil fuels, the air pollution it generates poses a huge direct threat to health.
It is very clear: the time to act is now. There is no single, big solution, but governments, businesses, communities and individuals all have a responsibility to take actions to reduce climate change and environmental degradation, and thereby their impact on health. We must tackle this crisis together.
The pandemic has also been a stark reminder of the importance of strong, resilient health systems. As we chart our way out of the current public health emergency, with the world’s attention still on health, we in the health sector have an opportunity to contribute in two key areas:
first, by building sustainable, climate-resilient health systems; and
second, by working with other sectors, using our voice to help strengthen the argument for broader actions to address climate change and environmental harm.
While the health sector must contend with many of the problems caused by climate and environmental changes, it has relatively little control over the factors that cause these problems. Clearly, sectors outside of health are in the position to take the lead in reducing carbon emissions. But in the health sector, we can help them to understand, or work together with them, that there are important co-benefits – for health and for other sectors – in doing so and in acting together.
For example, building cities which promote active transport – encouraging people to walk or cycle instead of driving – can lower air pollution, with the benefits for respiratory and cardiovascular health. This would also result in higher levels of physical activity, and helping to reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases.
In addition to these points about World Health Day, I also want to take the opportunity of this press conference to provide an update on COVID-19.
Let’s begin with an overview of key numbers for the Western Pacific from our Director of Health Security and Emergencies, Dr Babatunde Olowokure.
[Dr Babatunde Olowokure presents]
Thank you Babatunde. As you heard, some countries in our Region are now experiencing large Omicron-driven surges; others have passed their Omicron peaks but continue to actively monitor and respond; some Pacific island countries and areas are dealing with their first community outbreaks, while others are still preparing for COVID’s arrival.
We know that the virus will not disappear soon, but we also know that working together, we can end this public health emergency.
We have learned a lot over the past two years, including through Delta and Omicron surges, about how to protect the vulnerable, maintain the functioning of health systems, and adapt measures to enable societies and economies to function.
Population-based measures are being eased in many places. But this does not mean countries are giving up on controlling COVID-19, rather it reflects that many countries are transitioning away from society-wide containment measures to an approach aimed at sustainably managing COVID-19 over the long term.
We are able to do this because countries and areas in our Region have used their response to Omicron to further develop and strengthen their systems for suppressing transmission of the virus. We continue to learn from these experiences to improve and refine strategies for suppressing transmission while resuming most “normal” social and economic activities.
As part of this approach, governments, businesses, communities and individuals all still have important and specific roles to play in contributing to the broader goal of suppressing transmission, especially to protect the vulnerable, so that societies can “live with” COVID-19.
Now, governments need to:
go ‘the last mile’ to reach every vulnerable person with vaccines,
refine surveillance for the effective decision making; and ensure health systems are arranged in a way to provide services to those who need them, and
clearly communicate with businesses, communities and individuals about what they need to know, so they can take the most appropriate action.
Decision-makers who are responsible for workplaces, businesses, events and other gatherings, and schools need to take actions to keep people in those settings safe.
And at this stage in the pandemic, it’s just as important as ever that, as individuals, we all keep making smart choices and take the right actions to help suppress transmission, and protect the vulnerable people around us. This means, for example, getting vaccinated and boosted as soon as it’s our turn, wearing a mask in higher risk settings or when with vulnerable people around you, and physically distancing if necessary, to manage the risks in our own contexts.
If we all do this, we can control transmission, reducing opportunities for new and more dangerous variants to emerge, protecting the most vulnerable people around us, and get back to living the lives that we all want.
Thank you.