An open letter to the WHO Director General

A group of health organisations, including the Climate and Health Alliance, wrote to WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan to highlight the urgent health risks posed by climate change. They specifically drew attention to the Doha Declaration on Climate, Health and Wellbeing, which calls for health protection to be a central priority in global and national climate policy, increased investment in mitigation and adaptation, and greater engagement of the health sector. The letter urges the WHO to treat these issues as a high priority and to share the Declaration with the Executive Board.

• The Doha Declaration on Climate, Health and Wellbeing, signed by over 1,000 individuals and more than 80 health and medical organisations from 19 countries, advocates for health protection and promotion to be a central priority in national and global climate change policy responses.
• The Doha Declaration specifically calls for the domestic and global consideration of climate change's health impacts, a rapid increase in investment for climate adaptation and mitigation, and the active involvement of the community and health sector in climate action.
• The signatories argue that human health is severely threatened by the failure to stop emissions growth and that rapid emissions reductions are necessary to prevent further loss and damage.
• The letter highlights the existence of co-benefits when simultaneously addressing climate change and non-communicable diseases, noting that such actions benefit both the planet and people.

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} }