Call for the WHO to declare the climate crisis a public health emergency of international concern
- Wits University
Researchers urge WHO to act now while coordinated action can still reduce harm and to place the health and wellbeing of people and planet first.
Researchers from Wits Planetary Health Research (Wits PHR), University of the Witwatersrand, and international partner institutions are calling on the World Health Organization (WHO) and its Member States to formally declare the climate crisis a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), arguing that its immediate health impacts require a globally coordinated response to safeguard the health of the most vulnerable.
Climate change now reaches critical risk threshold
In a Letter published in The Lancet the authors argue that climate change, supercharged by a record-breaking El Niño, now represents an extraordinary threat to public health.
Extreme heatwaves, floods, wildfires and droughts have already caused unprecedented health emergencies worldwide, particularly in the most vulnerable populations and regions most affected by climate change, who have played little to no part in putting the world in this crisis.
The health impacts include heat-related illness and deaths, infectious disease outbreaks, food and water insecurity, and mental health harms following extreme weather.
Pregnant women, children, those living with chronic illness, the elderly and other vulnerable populations face particularly high risks, while lower-income countries bear a disproportionate burden despite having fewer resources to respond.
A recent report by the Climate Impact Lab conservatively predicts an additional 451 000 heat deaths from June 2026 to February 2027. These are acute, international events happening now, and not some future scenario. The global health infrastructure is ill-prepared and under-resourced.
A public health response to match the scale of the crisis
Researchers make an impassioned call for a public health response that is proportionate to the scale of the threat — one many consider the greatest public health threat in the 21st Century.
The letter argues that the International Health Regulations (IHR) provide an existing mechanism for such a coordinated WHO-led response, and one that needs to be triggered to guide such a response.
The IHR decision framework to notify a potential PHEIC considers serious public health impact, unusual or unexpected events, the risk of international spread and potential impacts on travel and trade, needing to only meet two of the four criteria.
The authors argue that the climate crisis should be declared a PHEIC by WHO, ensuring that the crisis is met with the urgency, resources and political will needed to confront the scale of the public health threat.
Professor Matthew Chersich, Executive Director at Wits PHR, said: “A PHEIC would catalyse a more equitable and coordinated public health response, prioritising care for affected populations, strengthening surveillance of impacts, while laying the platform for a public health approach to emissions reduction.”
The authors say a PHEIC would not replace the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) climate process but would complement it by placing health firmly at the centre of the global response. This will enable WHO to make time-bound recommendations, while strengthening funding, surveillance, coordination and support for affected populations.
Call to action
Researchers call on the WHO and its Member States to act while coordinated action can still reduce harm. Particularly, they call on Member States to lead by example, stand up for equity and justice, place the health and wellbeing of people and the planet first and join a coalition that asks the WHO to declare a PHEIC.