Our Planet, Our Health: How WHO Cambodia is supporting the Government to prepare for the risks of climate change

A pandemic, a polluted planet, and increasing incidence of cancer, heart disease and asthma. Amid all this, on World Health Day 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) is urging governments and the public to protect “Our planet, our health” and to create societies focused on well-being.

“Climate change is a global challenge that will impact all countries, all sectors and all individuals” says WHO Representative to Cambodia, Dr Li Ailan. “The entire continuum of health – from disease prevention to response and after care – will be affected by climate change.”

With different weather patterns, the places that disease-carrying mosquitos can thrive, for example, will shift. There may be more frequent droughts or floods, which will affect crops and harvests. This will impact on nutrition, especially of the most vulnerable members of our communities. Water quality may also be affected, with water-born diseases such as dysentery becoming more common. Heat stress may also increase. People may relocate to better cope with climate change, putting more pressure on the health care system. It is in these ways – and many more – that health may be impacted by changes in climate.

This year, World Health Day is putting the spotlight on the challenges currently faced by our planet, and how the protecting the environment also protects out health. Here at WHO, we are supporting the Royal Government of Cambodia and its Ministry of Health to prepare for the possible consequences of climate change, and to mitigate as much as possible risks to the Cambodian population.

We would like to share some of these initiatives with you today, to focus on “Our Planet. Our Health.”

Educating the next generation of health professionals to prepare for the consequences of climate change

Recognizing the crucial role it has in educating the next generation of Cambodian leaders and professionals, the Royal University of Phnom Penh with WHO technical support has developed a postgraduate curriculum on ‘Climate Change and Health’ as part of the ‘Masters of Science in Climate Change’ Program.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Health’s Preventive Medicine Department, the curriculum includes Cambodia-specific approaches to the effects of climate change on health. Promoting and applying this climate change lens to health care is not only crucial to respond to patients’ needs, it is also an essential component for responding to climate change more generally. The curriculum is expected to develop students’ competences in the field of climate change mitigation and adaptation, with the aim of promoting climate-resilient development and reducing the vulnerability of communities in the face of an uncertain future.

The program was launched by the Rector of RUPP His Excellency Dr. Chet Chealy, with the participation of WHO and PMD MoH representatives in 2020, after various workshops to analyse the needs and current knowledge of postgraduate students, revision consultations to ensure the curriculum is fit for purpose and pretesting of education materials. For the first time in Cambodia, the Climate Change and Health curricular was integrated into three courses of the Masters of Science in Climate Change: 1) Basic Science of Climate Change, 2) Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Planning, and 3) Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management. In order to make the course relevant specifically to the Cambodian context, the Royal University of Phnom Penh has incorporated case studies on climate change and health from coastal communities in Kampot province.

This year, the university plans to build in this further, by introducing new case studies on climate change and health from Mekong riverine communities in Tboung Khmum and Prey Veng provinces. These evolving case studies will explore the health problems now encountered by those living along the upper and lower Cambodian Mekong, and how they have so far addressed the impacts on climate change on health. The findings from these communities will be mainstreamed into the MCC program curriculum as well as relevant undergraduate courses. Importantly, because all three climate change courses are being offered during the period of the case studies, they will also be used as a field school for students to gain practical experience, and learn first-hand from the communities themselves.

“By gaining knowledge and skills from the MSCC program at RUPP, I have the capacity and confidence to conduct training and workshops on climate change impacts and vulnerability assessment for implementing partners.” Says MSSc graduate, Mr SIM Sambath. “At the same time, I have provided on-going support to partners in applying the technical skills and tools related to climate change risk and adaptation assessment in the province where my thesis was conducted in 2020.”

This innovative approach to incorporating the risks of climate change into current health education is key to equipping the next generation of health leaders to face the challenges ahead. The practical field experience – of talking to affected communities and listening to their views – sets the Climate Change and Health curriculum up well for success. We here at WHO congratulate the Royal University for their vision, and wish them every future success!

Climate change will require transformational change in every sector

The COVID-19 response has shown the power of countries and communities working together. Addressing climate change – and mitigating its health impacts – requires the same level of global collaboration from individuals, communities, governments and the private sector.

To prioritize creating societies which protect our planet and our health, WHO has outlined a series of actions that governments, corporations, health workers and health facilities, mayors, and individuals can take to protect the health of the planet and its people. Learn more about the recommended actions.