WHO: Health System Resilience and the Health Consequences of Climate Change

Committee: World Health Organization (WHO)

First agenda — Strengthening Health Resilience and Preparedness for Future Public Health Emergencies

Sponsors: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Nauru, Pakistan, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Yemen
Signatories: Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cuba, Ecuador, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iceland, India, Kiribati, Kyrgyz Republic, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Maldives, Mauritius, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Suriname, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Venezuela

Second agenda — Building National Health System Capacity to Address the Growing Health Consequences of Climate Change

Sponsors: Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belarus, Cabo Verde, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, India, Nauru, Pakistan, Poland, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Solomon Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Yemen
Signatories: Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burundi, Cuba, Gambia, Haiti, Iceland, Kiribati, Kyrgyz Republic, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Maldives, Monaco, Netherlands, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Venezuela

What the first resolution does

The resolution calls on member states, working with the World Health Organization, to expand the global health workforce through scholarships, epidemiological training, professional exchanges and continuous capacity-building, while encouraging the recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals in underserved and rural communities.

It encourages integrated digital disease surveillance systems incorporating artificial intelligence, strengthened laboratory capacity, improved cross-border information sharing under the International Health Regulations (2005), and rapid response teams capable of containing outbreaks before they escalate. It urges member states to reduce the burden of infectious and non-communicable disease through expanded immunisation, preventive healthcare, routine screening, improved sanitation and public health education, and recommends expanding telemedicine, electronic health records and mobile health technologies for rural, hinterland, island and geographically isolated communities.

On financing, it requests increased domestic investment in resilient health systems alongside international financial and technical assistance, innovative financing mechanisms, and partnerships between governments, international organisations, development banks and the private sector. It supports regional emergency stockpiles of vaccines, diagnostics, medicines, personal protective equipment, oxygen supplies and medical equipment, while promoting regional pharmaceutical manufacturing and voluntary technology transfer to reduce dependence on imported medical products.

It encourages member states, particularly small island developing states and climate-vulnerable countries, to integrate disaster risk reduction into national health systems through climate-resilient infrastructure, preparedness exercises, early warning systems, evacuation protocols and resilient supply chains. It calls for combating health misinformation through evidence-based public communication, community engagement, digital literacy initiatives and partnerships with trusted local leaders.

Its final clauses turn regional. The resolution recommends establishing a Caribbean Emergency Health Corps of trained professionals from Caribbean nations, deployable to neighbouring states during outbreaks, natural disasters or other emergencies. It calls for a regional emergency medical airlift and logistics network capable of rapidly transporting patients, personnel, vaccines and supplies between Caribbean states during crises. And it supports the establishment of a Caribbean Public Health Emergency Response Fund providing rapid financial assistance to small island developing states experiencing public health emergencies.

What the second resolution does

The resolution calls for the establishment of an International Climate Health Financing Fund, supported by WHO and other international partners, alongside a dedicated WHO climate-health financing mechanism for member states lacking access to regional funding architecture. The Fund is to strengthen emergency preparedness and response systems, procure emergency medicines, vaccines and essential supplies, and support vulnerable member states — particularly small island developing states, least developed countries and other climate-vulnerable developing countries — in rebuilding health facilities and enhancing emergency response capacity. It encourages use of existing climate financing initiatives, including Azerbaijan's Climate Finance Action Fund.

It encourages member states, particularly small island and landlocked developing states, to strengthen regional partnerships in order to pool purchasing demand, increase collective bargaining power and reduce the cost of essential medical supplies, climate adaptation technologies and renewable energy resources.

On infrastructure, it encourages the development of climate-resilient health facilities and hospitals capable of withstanding floods, hurricanes, storms, droughts and extreme heat, equipped with backup power and clean water supplies; standard climate health vulnerability assessments before construction or major renovation; integration of solar, geothermal and battery storage into healthcare facilities; and cold-chain systems using solar- or hydro-powered refrigeration for vaccines, medicines, blood products, insulin and laboratory samples.

It requests regional emergency medical supply storage centres and stockpiles accessible to member states facing climate-related health emergencies. It supports strengthened digital disease surveillance and expanded early warning systems forecasting hurricanes, floods, droughts, heatwaves, storm surges and glacier-related disasters, and encourages glacier monitoring programmes, isotope hydrology research and water-quality surveillance to reduce risks from glacial lake outburst floods.

On workforce, it recommends expanded capacity-building for healthcare professionals covering climate-related diseases, heat stress, malnutrition, disaster medicine, sanitation, nutrition, mental health and public health emergencies, incorporated into standard education and continuing medical education.

Further clauses call for emergency food security and nutrition programmes prioritising children, pregnant women and older persons; investment in climate-resilient food storage, sustainable irrigation and drought-resistant crop varieties; ecosystem-based adaptation through mangrove restoration, reforestation, wetland conservation and watershed protection; expanded water and sanitation infrastructure including desalination where necessary; national heat action plans with public heat-warning systems and community cooling centres; and support for countries with dispersed populations and geographically fragmented territories.

The resolution recommends financial and technological assistance for countries transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy, particularly small island developing states, and supports those pursuing full reliance on renewables within the coming decade — including transitional flexibility, phased timelines or exemptions under the Global Action Plan on Climate Change and Health (2025) for states that remain dependent on imported fossil fuels during transition.

What the preambles record

The first resolution recalls that the COVID-19 pandemic showed fast emergency response does not by itself mean a country is prepared, since states that acted quickly still faced delays in the deeper financing and health system reforms needed for lasting resilience. It records concern that fragile and conflict-affected states face shortages of healthcare workers and damaged infrastructure, where sustained conflict has left only around 60 per cent of health facilities fully functional amid concurrent outbreaks of cholera, measles and malaria. It notes that health systems in several member states remain built on centralised, hospital-based models designed decades ago to fight infectious disease, leaving them structurally underprepared for today's leading causes of death, and that the migration of trained doctors, nurses and midwives out of small and developing states undermines resilience regardless of infrastructure or funding.

The second records that climate change has become one of the greatest threats to global public health, and notes increasing waterborne and vector-borne disease including malaria and dengue linked to rising temperatures, contributing to over 700,000 deaths globally according to the World Health Organization. It recognises that small island developing states transitioning away from fossil fuels face disproportionate financial, technological and infrastructural burdens, particularly where restrictions take effect before affordable renewable alternatives are in place.

In the room

The committee took its first agenda ahead of the second, after a motion to reverse the order was countered and defeated on a vote. WHO completed its resolutions ahead of the closing plenary. Delegates named Belarus, Yemen, Uzbekistan, Solomon Islands, Nauru and Barbados as the principal driving forces in the committee. The atmosphere was collegial.