FHF Global Summit Spotlights Climate-health Crisis As Experts Ready For Roadmap To COP28

The inaugural event of the Forecasting Healthy Futures (FHF) Global Summit March 2023 was held in Abu Dhabi on March 16, 2023.

Global leaders in health, climate, and technology gathered at the FHF Global Summit to initiate ideas and solutions for reducing the negative effects of climate change on human health. 

The FHF Global Summit, which was co-hosted by Reaching the Last Mile, was organized with the intention of influencing the global health community towards new collaborations and substantial funding in favor of climate-adaptive health initiatives ahead of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai later this year.

About FHF Global Summit, March 2023

The FHF Global Summit held in Abu Dhabi was an invite-only event that summoned different organizations of stakeholders from the health, climate, and technology sectors in order to advance global consensus on policy and investment goals aimed at enhancing our collective understanding of the health concerns posed by climate change.

The Global Summit was attended by a diverse group of over 200 leaders from the public and business sectors, NGOs, international financing institutions, and higher education who represented 140 organizations and more than 40 nations.

Majid Al-Suwaidi, Director-General of COP28, delivered the keynote address at the summit. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), also spoke virtually.

Al-Suwaidi warned the summit that the advancements made in the field of global health in recent decades are in danger due to climate change.

He also stressed the necessity of ramping up efforts to collaborate, fund, and develop health systems and protect vulnerable communities from climate shocks.

He said that the first-ever global stocktake will be delivered at COP28, where the world will come together to assess the progress made towards the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. As this will reveal the gap between ambitions and reality, the world’s path, which is not on the right track, will need a change, he added.

He also added that COP28, which is to take place in the UAE, will take all necessary measures to get the world back on track by 2023. He stated that “in order to accomplish our goals, we must reduce emissions by 43 percent in less than seven years. This would help to strengthen the healthcare system and help affected communities prevent illness and provide relief and rehabilitation”.

He further added that “to make this a COP of solidarity that connects the global north and south and incorporates all stakeholders, including the private sector, scientists, civil society, Indigenous peoples, women, and youth, we must all work together.”

“We expect that COP28 will be able to identify solutions and outcomes for healthcare, mitigation, adaptation, loss, and damage in an inclusive approach.”

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, who delivered his speech virtually, also emphasized the urgent need for additional funding and partnerships to promote global health policies for climate adaptation.

He said that “the climate crisis is a health crisis: the extreme weather conditions, the degradation of the land, biodiversity loss, and food and water scarcity all have a significant impact on the health of millions of people.

We must adopt measures to reduce the effects of climate change, such as utilizing innovative technologies, making investments in climate-resilient health systems, and having a skilled and well-paid workforce in the healthcare industry”.

On concluding his speech, he emphasized that catastrophic climate change is something that affects the whole world. Therefore, to create a fairer, healthier, and more sustainable future for everybody, all must work together to act across borders.

Tala Al-Ramahi, one of the Reaching the Last Mile directors, emphasized in her speech the chance offered by the summit to spark new momentum and accomplish the goals of UAE leadership at COP28.

She said that at the crossroads of three great forces, we are at a crucial inflection point today: the unparalleled commitment to stop climate change and prevent further planetary destruction; the increasing knowledge of how climate change affects human health; and the advent of new knowledge and technologies to create equitable, fair, and adaptable health systems.

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Forecasting Healthy Futures (FHF) is a developing association of partners from the public, private, and global health sectors. The consortium is now coordinated by Malaria No More. Reaching the Last Mile provides financial assistance for the FHF World Conference.

Ever since its founding in 2020, Forecasting Healthy Futures (FHF) has been working to promote innovation and investment in novel ideas and technology to safeguard advancements in global health from the effects of climate change.

It aims to raise awareness of the disparities at the convergence of climate change and global health and to promote investment in proactive solutions that foresee and lessen the effects of global warming on human health among vulnerable members of society.

Reaching the Last Mile, the Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE), PATH, the Tableau Foundation, IBM’s Weather Company, and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) are some of the partners of the FHF.