SERAC-Bangladesh, in collaboration with the UNFPA Joint Youth Working Group on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Climate Change, played a pivotal role in highlighting the need for explicit recognition of the disproportionate impacts of climate change on women, children, and adolescents’ health (WCAH).
On this, the PMNCH Adolescent and Youth Constituency Member, SERAC Bangladesh Program Manager Tasnia Ahmed says, ‘’While the COP28 Climate and Health Declaration does not formally refer to women’s, children’s, and adolescent’s health (WCAH), it is important for us to continue advocating for the explicit recognition of the disproportionate impacts of climate change on these diversified vulnerable groups as this remains crucial for effective, just and equitable gender solutions to climate action, and to protect health’’.
A key pillar of the declaration is the commitment to partner with women, girls, children, and youth. As the PMNCH constituency country member, we look forward to countries maintaining this promise and actively involving young people and all those most affected by climate change in decision-making processes. Climate change is the greatest intergenerational injustice of our times, we have no time to waste. The aim is that this declaration will not just remain a statement but that governments deliver on their obligations and drive transformative change in each country to ensure better, just and equitable integration of health considerations into climate policy processes, and climate considerations across health policy agendas.
The landmark announcement of the ‘COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health.’ Unveiled on the eve of the Health Day at a COP, this declaration signified a global commitment to proactively address climate-related health impacts. 123 countries endorsed the declaration and committed to improving the ability of health systems to anticipate and implement adaptation interventions against climate-sensitive diseases and health risks, promoting steps to curb carbon emissions and reduce waste in the health sectors, and facilitating collaboration on human, animal, environment and climate health challenges, such as by implementing One Health approach. The declaration should be considered a strong starting base on which we can build further, rather than the ceiling for countries’ climate and health ambitions.
Apart from this, our Program Manager, Tasnia Ahmed joined the session as speaker on ‘Delivering changes by institutionalizing youth participation’ at climate live pavilion by Climate Forward Global, NDC findings presenter on the session- ‘Road to ICPD30: Enhancing rights-based NDCs and Integration of Gender transformative Approaches’ by UNFPA and session speaker at networking workshop by women and gender constituency. She was also interviewed by the Africa News on sharing the climax of climate and SRHR.