The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a new report titled Safe, Climate-Resilient, and Environmentally Sustainable Healthcare Facilities: An Overview. This guide offers policymakers, health administrators, facility managers, and healthcare practitioners practical advice on designing facilities capable of delivering high-quality care while withstanding environmental challenges and crises.
As the global environmental crises—climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss—intensify, healthcare systems face increasing pressure to adapt. Without urgent action, these challenges risk overwhelming healthcare services, jeopardizing public health and progress toward universal health coverage (UHC).
Healthcare facilities form the backbone of health systems, ensuring access to care for acute and complex conditions. To provide consistent, quality care, these facilities require robust infrastructure, including safe and reliable electricity, water, sanitation, hygiene, cleaning, waste management systems, sound chemical and radiation management, and a skilled, supported, and protected workforce.
In the face of escalating environmental pressures, healthcare facilities must become climate-resilient to maintain operations during extreme weather events and other crises. Additionally, they must embrace environmental sustainability by optimizing resource use and minimizing emissions and pollutants.
Climate change continues to worsen disease burdens and intensify stressors such as heatwaves, storms, and floods. Many healthcare facilities, however, lack the capacity to address these environmental risks effectively, presenting significant barriers to achieving UHC and safeguarding population health.
The WHO’s new publication outlines the essential elements of safe, climate-resilient, and environmentally sustainable healthcare facilities, offering actionable steps and additional resources to guide their implementation. This effort aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals and WHO’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work, underscoring the need for global commitment to strengthening healthcare systems for a healthier, more sustainable future.
