The Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH) recently held a virtual general meeting to announce a comprehensive restructuring aimed at enhancing its responsiveness to the climate crisis with greater agility and efficiency.
The fully online meeting, organized in two sessions to accommodate global time zones, was designed to minimize emissions associated with travel. “We must lead by example,” stated Elena Villalobos Prats, ATACH Secretariat Lead at the World Health Organization. “While ATACH supports countries in building climate-resilient health systems, we also prioritize emissions reduction. Every action counts.”
The ATACH Secretariat unveiled a new organizational structure and delivery approach to deepen engagement with countries and partners and to streamline the fulfillment of core priorities. Under this structure, the alliance will introduce specialized task teams to address specific climate-health challenges. ATACH will continue to prioritize climate resilience and low-carbon sustainability within health systems, while also advocating for health-promoting initiatives across other sectors, such as food, agriculture, and energy.
The meeting also provided a platform for the leaders of ATACH’s working groups on climate-resilient health systems, low-carbon health systems, supply chains, finance, climate action, and nutrition to reflect on their achievements and align with ATACH’s reorganization.
To further enhance delivery and participation, task teams led by member countries and partners will work toward specific goals aligned with national priorities. Countries and partners will also host a series of technical meetings. The new ATACH structure emphasizes flexibility, allowing the alliance to quickly adapt to emerging needs in the fight for health amidst the climate crisis. The task teams will play a vital role in responding to newly identified areas for support with both agility and efficiency.
