Nairobi work programme (NWP): Partners, Action Pledges and Experts Database

Action Pledges

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Title	Climate change and health
Partner	World Health Organization (WHO)
Date of submission	01/10/2008
Description	WHO Action pledge The effects of climate change on health are receiving increasing attention as a central concern for policy makers and the public. Human beings are already exposed to short and long term health risks of climate variability and change. Climate-sensitive diseases and health conditions today kill millions. They include malnutrition, which causes over 3.5 million deaths per year, diarrhoeal diseases, which kill over 1.8 million, and malaria, which kills almost 1 million. Climate change threatens to increase these disease burdens and erode the environmental conditions that support good health and well-being of mankind. In compliance with this mandate from the health community, WHO is committed to strengthening: Its scientific, normative and policy development functions, Its operational programmes (e.g. combating infectious disease, improving water and sanitation services and hygiene practices, and providing health support in emergencies), and Its support to Ministries of Health and other health actors throughout the world. WHO pledges to carry out the following specific actions: Strengthening of health systems Outreach and advocacy Monitoring, surveillance and forecasting Health development Research and knowledge Partnerships
Action pledge updates
01/10/2009	WHO Action Pledge update
21/04/2010	WHO Action Pledge update
Further information	Director General's statement on World Health Day 2008 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2008/s05/en/index.html Work plan (2009) http://unfccc.int/files/adaptation/sbsta_agenda_item_adaptation/application/pdf/2009_workplan.pdf Director General's speech The impact of global crises on health: money, weather and microbes http://www.who.int/dg/speeches/2009/financial_crisis_20090318/en/index.html World Health Assembly Resolution on climate change and health http://www.who.int/globalchange/climate/EB_CChealth_resolution/en/index.html World Health Day 2008 on protecting health from climate change http://www.who.int/world-health-day/en/index.html WHO Regional Offices WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) http://www.afro.who.int/ WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) http://www.emro.who.int/ceha/index.asp WHO Regional Office for Europe (EURO) http://www.euro.who.int/globalchange WHO Regional Office for the Americas/Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) http://new.paho.org/ WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia (SEARO) http://www.searo.who.int/ SEARO Regional Framework for Action to Protect Human Health from the Effects of Climate Change in the Asia-Pacific Region http://unfccc.int/files/adaptation/sbsta_agenda_item_adaptation/application/pdf/who_searo_regional_network.pdf WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WPRO) http://www.wpro.who.int/topics/climate_change/en/
Regional focus	All regions
Sector	Human health Science, assessment, monitoring and early warning
Adaptation delivery activity	Capacity building Communications and awareness-raising Knowledge management Monitoring and evaluation
NWP work area	Adaptation planning and practices Data and observations Methods and tools Research Socio-economic information
Target group	Academics Children Communities Policy makers Practitioners Private sector Women

Organizations, institutions and private sector companies at all levels and in a wide range of sectors can become engaged with the NWP by becoming a partner and making Action Pledges. Information about how organizations can become engaged with work on adaptation under the NWP can be found here.

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