I would like to start by saying bula, and I would also like to say vinaka for joining us. The room is full and I’m very happy to see the interest of everybody here in health and climate change.
Your Excellency Frank Bainimarama, President of COP23 and Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji,
And I can see also the Prime Minister of Cook Islands with us here, the Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa, and Governor Schwarzenegger,
Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
We depend on our planet for everything we are, and everything we have.
The air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink.
Climate change therefore strikes at the heart of what it means to be human.
It increases the risks of extreme weather events, such as the hurricanes that devastated several Caribbean islands this summer.
I am proud that WHO has responded to these disasters, with our partners, by delivering emergency medical supplies, generators, chlorine tablets and other supplies to alleviate suffering.
Apart from the damage to life and livelihoods, we must not forget the damage to mental health that these events cause.
But climate change also fans the flames of infectious disease such as malaria, dengue and cholera.
And it fuels the spread of noncommunicable disease by polluting the air, food and water that sustain life.
Small Island Developing States feel these effects most acutely.
My brother Prime Minister Bainimarama knows this all too well. In Fiji, there was an outbreak of diarrheal disease following a drought in 2011.
In 2012, there were outbreaks of leptospirosis, typhoid and dengue following a flood.
And just last year, as his excellency said, Cyclone Winston killed 44 people and inflicted damages of $1.4 billion – more than a third of Fiji’s economy.
Climate change is not a political argument in Fiji and other island nations. It’s an everyday reality.
These communities need assistance to cope with a world that is changing in front of them. Assisting them means assisting us.
But despite years of talk, the international response remains weak.
Less than 1.5% of international finance for climate change adaptation is allocated to health projects, and SIDS receive only a fraction of that.
It’s time for change.
That’s why today we’re delighted to launch together with the Presidency and UNFCCC, this Special Initiative on Climate Change and Health in Small Island Developing States.
The initiative aims to give Small Island Developing States the resources and support to understand and manage the effects of climate change on health.
Our vision is that by 2030, all small island developing states will have health systems that are resilient to climate change.
But it is not enough simply to ask these communities to adapt.
We must also take action to mitigate the causes of climate change.
So by 2030, we also see a world in which countries around the world will be reducing their carbon emissions.
This will protect the most vulnerable from climate risks, and deliver large health benefits in carbon-emitting countries.
The initiative has four main goals:
First, to amplify the voices of health and political leaders in small island developing states to engage nationally and internationally.
Second, to gather the evidence to build the business case for investment in climate change and health;
Third, to prepare for climate risks through preparedness and prevention policies and to build "climate proof" health systems;
And fourth, to triple the current financial support for climate and health in small island developing states.
We will also aim to lead the way in transforming health services in Small Island Developing States away from expensive models of care that focus on treating the sick, to those that prevent disease and promote health.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We are doing this for the small island developing states because they will disproportionately bear the burden of climate change. That’s exactly what we are observing.
Leaving no-one behind means that we are all accountable for those whose voices are not heard the loudest, and whose interests are the most easily ignored, which we’re observing.
But this is not just for the small island states. The whole world is affected by climate change, although small islands are disproportionately affected. We are all in the same boat. This initiative is for all of us.
We cannot improve health and well-being without addressing climate change and without solidarity.
Thank you. Vinaka.
Finally I would like to thank the President for his hospitality when I visited him in Fiji, and my sister for her leadership, and the Governor also for his leadership. It’s the commitment of all these leaders that really brought us together today.
But this is just a commitment. The action starts. Let’s commit to make a difference.
Thank you so much.