The United Arab Emirates has emphasised the health benefits of addressing climate change including air pollution, and extreme weather events, and called for greater global efforts to address the climate-health nexus
NEW YORK, (Pakistan Point News - 24th Sep, 2019) The United Arab Emirates has emphasised the health benefits of addressing climate change including air pollution, and extreme weather events, and called for greater global efforts to address the climate-health nexus.
During the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage, Hessa Essa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development, noted that there is far too little investment in the health aspects of climate change today and stated that collective action was required to ensure that climate finance benefits the health sector.
The meeting was held to accelerate the implementation of the global goals on health, or SDG 3, particularly in light of the enormous gaps in health services coverage and low financing directed to the health sector in many low-income countries.
Buhumaid underlined the critical need to make health services suitable for all members of society. She noted that in an effort to ensure social inclusion, the UAE placed the elderly and People of Determination at the centre of national healthcare policies.
The UAE minister also called for mainstreaming age and gender markers throughout UN programming, ensuring that the system takes into consideration the unique health needs and views of women, men, girls, and boys at different ages when designing UN development programmes.
She also addressed the UAE’s efforts in the region and globally, particularly on the elimination of deadly but preventable diseases, including polio, malaria, guinea worm and river blindness, through the "Reaching the Last Mile" fund. She highlighted that His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, committed more than US$300 million over the last ten years to improve health outcomes for people around the world.
The multi-stakeholder discussions of the high-level meeting highlighted the need for financial risk protection, access to essential quality health-care services as well as access to safe, effective, and affordable medicines and vaccines for all.
