The Executive Board of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has agreed to launch a programme to address the health effects of climate change in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including Fiji and other Pacific Island States and Territories.

Fiji was represented by Philip Davies, Permanent Secretary for Health & Medical Services, in negotiating the agreement during a meeting of the Board in Geneva, Switzerland.

The programme will seek to ensure that health systems in SIDS are resilient to extreme weather and climate-sensitive disease by 2030. It will do so by supporting advocacy, providing evidence to justify investment, facilitating access to climate finance, and helping the entire world’s SIDS to establish climate-resilient health facilities.

Fiji, resolute in advocating that the programme be clearly focused on the unique and pressing set of challenges faced by SIDS, was supported by several other board members, including the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, New Zealand, Canada, and Iraq.

Source: World Health Organisation

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