Responding to climate change and building resilient health systems

Climate change is now recognised as the “greatest global health threat facing the world in the 21st century.” For health systems to be resilient to climate change they must both mitigate actions that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to reduce the vulnerability of the system to the actual or expected effects of climate change.

This conceptual framework outlines how we approach working with governments, health providers and communities to respond to this threat and build resilient health systems that can bring sustained improvements in population health despite an unstable climate.

On the left of the diagram, we detail the ways in which Options can support stakeholders to reduce the causes of climate change. On the right, we detail the ways in which Options can support stakeholders to modify decisions and actions to adjust to a changing climate. The framework is based on six components, which are closely aligned to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) health systems building blocks:

1. sustainable products, technology and infrastructure
2. robust data systems
3. sustainable financing
4. accountable leadership and governance
5. integrated people-centred services;
6. and a skilled and adaptive workforce

To find out more about our approach, take a look at our climate and health systems conceptual framework.