Croakey readers now have less than two weeks to finalise and make a submission to help inform development of a National Health and Climate Strategy – the deadline is 24 July. We encourage readers to use the hashtag #HealthyClimateStrategyOz when sharing related news.
Remy Shergill from the Climate and Health Alliance recently took charge of Croakey’s rotated Twitter account @WePublicHealth to share some related suggestions.
Remy Shergill tweets:
The protection of population health and wellbeing should be the primary focus of the strategy. It must be holistic and move beyond silos in terms of public dialogue, policy portfolios, investment strategies, political/business priorities, and leadership.
We need a national approach to embedding climate health outcomes across government and to embedding population health in decarbonisation strategies across *every* portfolio, alongside building a sustainable, climate-resilient health system.
Right now, the strategy is far off this goal. Here are some ways the strategy can be improved.
• Have a clearly articulated vision and purpose
• Set targets and time-frames for actions and implementation
• Include the human right to health and intergenerational justice as principles
• Conduct genuine engagement with First Nations Elders and communities
• Consult with affected communities
• Undertake expert academic consultation
• Outline how the strategy will support coordination of initiatives
• Maximise current activities to reduce CO2 emissions
• Align with and inform national health and environmental strategies
• Make terminology consistent.
Some history
Read the article at the RACGP website: “For Dr Wylie, the strategy now being formulated six years later is a significant step, but it is what comes next that really matters.”
Previously at Croakey
On climate change and health, we have more than one elephant in the room
Unveiling next steps for the National Health and Climate Strategy
Concerns raised about KPMG conducting National Health and Climate Strategy consultation
Role of consultancy firms in health policy under growing scrutiny
