Distinguished Delegates,

The climate crisis is a child health crisis. Children, including adolescent girls, face rising malnutrition, poor access to clean water and sanitation, air pollution, disease, and mental distress due to climate-related impacts. By 2050, climate-driven food insecurity could cause 40 million more children to suffer from stunting and 28 million from wasting. Already strained health systems are further weakened by climate shocks—leaving the most vulnerable, particularly children and women, without care. Yet less than 3% of climate finance addresses children’s needs.

We commend Member States for elevating climate and health at this World Health Assembly and welcome the draft Global Plan of Action, including recent amendments. We especially welcome the recognition of climate change’s unequal impact and the call for integrated, cross-sectoral responses. Alongside urgent mitigation, we strongly support investment in early warning systems and the use of robust, disaggregated data.

We urge Member States to adopt and implement the plan by:
● Clearly defining “vulnerable groups” to include children, with data disaggregated by age, gender, and disability.
● Developing inclusive, well-financed climate-health strategies that strengthen health systems and workers.
● Ensuring multisectoral coordination with civil society and communities, free from commercial interference.
● Aligning indicators with Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW14), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Global Goal on Adaptation, and the SDGs.
● Guaranteeing meaningful, legally anchored participation of women, children, adolescents, and persons with disabilities.

We stand ready to support this vital agenda.