An open letter to the WHO Director General

An open letter from the Climate and Health Alliance and partner organisations to WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan, urging the World Health Organisation to prioritise the health impacts of climate change and the goals of the Doha Declaration on Climate, Health and Wellbeing.

• The letter brings the Doha Declaration on Climate, Health and Wellbeing to the attention of the WHO Director-General. This declaration was developed during the 2012 UNFCCC global climate change negotiations (COP 18) and was signed by more than 1,000 individuals and over 80 health and medical organisations from 19 countries.
• The Doha Declaration advocates for the protection and promotion of health to be a central priority in national and global policy responses to climate change. Specifically, it calls for the health impacts of climate change to be considered globally and domestically, a rapid increase in investment for climate adaptation and mitigation, and the engagement of the community and health sector in climate action.
• The signatories argue that human health is severely threatened by the failure to curb climate change and halt emissions growth. They assert that strategies for sustained emissions reductions and health protection must be implemented quickly to prevent further loss and damage, requiring leadership from civil society, business, political leaders, and the health sector.
• The authors urge the WHO to treat the health implications of climate change as a highest priority and to recognise the co-benefits of addressing both climate change and non-communicable diseases. They specifically requested that the Doha Declaration be shared with the Executive Board during their meeting on May 29-30.

APA

ostyx (2013). An open letter to the WHO Director General. Global Climate and Health Alliance. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/news/an-open-letter-to-the-who-director-general/

Chicago

ostyx. An open letter to the WHO Director General. Global Climate and Health Alliance, 2013. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/news/an-open-letter-to-the-who-director-general/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=ostyx |title=An open letter to the WHO Director General |publisher=Global Climate and Health Alliance |date=1 May 2013 |url=https://climateandhealthalliance.org/news/an-open-letter-to-the-who-director-general/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{ostyx2013open, author = {ostyx}, title = {{An open letter to the WHO Director General}}, publisher = {Global Climate and Health Alliance}, year = {2013}, month = may, url = {https://climateandhealthalliance.org/news/an-open-letter-to-the-who-director-general/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }