Invitation

WHO side event at the United Nations Climate Change Conference- Tianjin, China

WHO Climate Change and Health Team is pleased to invite you to the World Health Organization (WHO) side event "Health adaptation to climate change" to be held on 07 October 2010 from 18:00–19.30pm (Room Yinchuan) at the Tianjin Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center (MJCEC), Tianjin, China.

The event aims at:
• sharing experiences and lessons from new initiatives on public health adaptation to climate change
• review of health representation in the current negotiating text, and official launch of the "Friends of Public Health" Initiative

Background document and proposed agenda attached below.
Looking forward to meeting you in China,
Best regards,
The Climate Change and Health Team
Public Health & Environment Department
World Health Organization
Marina Maiero
Public Health and Environment Department
World Health Organization
Room L-131
CH-1211 Geneva 27
Tel +4122 7912402
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United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Conference of the AWG-KP & AWG-LCA

October 2010 Tianjin, China

WHO side Event: Health adaptation to climate change
Thursday, 07 Oct 2010 - 18:00 - 19:30 - (Room Yinchuan)

The original UNFCCC treaty aims to avoid adverse effects on human health and welfare, alongside impacts on the natural environment, and on economic systems.  Health risks are at the forefront of public concern over climate change, and there is accumulating evidence that negative health effects are already occurring, and that will continue to mount.  Despite this, health is not strongly represented in the climate change negotiations, or operational mechanisms.  WHO believes that a greater emphasis on human health would support the climate change process, by making a more direct connection to the general public, and mobilizing the capacity of the health sector to implement effective interventions to protect populations from climate change.

During the side event the significant impacts on human health of climate change as well as the strategies and experiences to enhance adaptation will be reviewed.

In particular the side event aims at:

Proposed Agenda

18:00 - 18:20   Opening remarks and Overall presentation on WHO global work Health Adaptation (Dr. Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum- WHO)

18.20 - 18.40   Piloting Climate Change Adaptation to Protect Human Health -MDGF& WHO/UNDP GEF project experience in China (Brent Powis, WHO China)

18.40 - 19. 00  Review of the AWG-LCA negotiating text and Official launch of the "Friends of Public Health" Initiative (Ms. Marina Maiero and Dr Ama Essel)

19.00 - 19.30   Open discussions - Q&A

19.30   Refreshment

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"Friends of Public Health" Initiative - Background

In order to highlight the importance of health protection and health promotion in the Climate Change talks and negotiations and to facilitate the inclusion of health concerns in the COP16 new agreement, decision-making, resource allocation and outreach activities, WHO would like to establish an informal group of countries within the UNFCCC process to be named "Friends of Public Health" and to undertake the following activities:

·       exchange information on adaptation and mitigation actions which are necessary to address the consequences of climate change

1       raise awareness and public understanding of health consequences of climate change and the role of the health sector in adaptation and mitigation effort

2       attend WHO events/roundtables organized under the UNFCCC framework

3       spark commitment among parties, international organizations, donors, civil society, youth, businesses and local communities to collaborate on putting health at the heart of the climate change agenda

4       assess the different health impacts caused by climate change to the different segments of the population that are already vulnerable owing to geography, gender, age, indigenous or minority status and disability

5       promote WHO key messages in the climate change discussions

Global Activities on protecting health from climate change - Background

The public health community has worked to raise awareness of the health risks of climate change for over 20 years. The last few years have seen the development of applied projects working at the national level to assess health vulnerability from climate change, and to identify and pilot adaptation measures to protect human health.  WHO is supporting health vulnerability and adaptation assessments in over 30 countries, and implementing significant adaptation health adaptation projects in 16 countries, working either directly with Governments, or with other funders and UN programmes, including MDG-F, GEF, UNDP and UNEP.  This work is now generating technical tools, capacity building resources and practical experience that can help to inform future measures to protect health from climate change.