Protecting our Future in the COVID-19 Recovery

Right now, governments are making major decisions that will determine how we come out of this crisis. Climate policies and other environmental regulations are being renegotiated in response to the pandemic’s impacts. Once-in-a-generation investments are being decided upon. These decisions will determine whether we emerge into a safer, healthier, and more equitable world, or return to business as usual, on a path to ongoing health crises driven by climate change and other environmental degradation.
Join health professionals from around the world calling for COVID-19 responses that lead to a healthier and safer future.

In the largest mobilisation since the run-up to the 2015 Paris climate agreement, over 350 health professionals’ organisations representing over 40 million doctors, nurses and other health professionals from 90 countries have sent a letter to the political leaders of the G20 countries.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed doctors, nurses and other health professionals to death, disease and mental distress at levels not seen in decades. The scale of this pain could have been at least partially mitigated by adequate investments in pandemic preparedness, public health and environmental stewardship, the letter states. Leaders must learn from these mistakes and recover in a way that makes the world healthier and more resilient. 

Health professionals are calling on governments to ensure that the recovery plans set out as part of the COVID-19 aftermath put health protection and promotion at their core, directing investments to ensure strong public health systems, clean air, clean water and a stable climate. See the full text of the letter.