Nepal's health minister urges health focus at COP31 climate talks
Nepal's health minister spoke at the COP31 UN climate conference in Turkey, where climate change was framed as a public health threat.
By Standard Topic. AI-generated from the reporting listed under Coverage. Published . Updated .
What happened
Nepal's Minister of Health and Food Safety, Nisha Mehta, called for human health to be placed at the center of global climate discussions, saying climate change is a serious public health threat as well as an environmental crisis. She spoke at the inauguration of the Nepal Pavilion at COP31. The UN climate chief warned that climate change is a growing threat to public health and that countries must protect their health systems during the conference in Turkey.
Why it matters
The UN climate chief described the climate crisis as a health emergency of pandemic scale. Some observers say the conference must deliver results rather than declarations.
Timeline
- Nov 9, 4:21 AM ET: Nisha Mehta, Nepal's Minister of Health and Food Safety, called for human health to be central to climate talks at the Nepal Pavilion inauguration at COP31.
- Nov 9, 10:18 AM ET: The UN climate chief warned that countries must protect health systems as climate change threatens public health at COP31 in Turkey.
- Nov 9, 12:56 PM ET: COP31 opened in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya, under pressure to deliver results over words.
Coverage
- ‘Declarations Do Not Protect People’: COP31 Opens Under Pressure To Deliver Results Over Words (healthpolicy-watch.news)
- Climate crisis now a health emergency of ‘pandemic scale’, UN warns (Euronews)
- Minister Mehta calls for public health to be central to climate discussions at COP31 (Nepal News)
More from Health
- WHO says cholera deaths top 3,000 this year
- Georgia health officials confirm three more measles cases
- Hospitals write off $132 billion as AI fails to lift finances
- Oura agrees to buy AI firm Counsel Health for $625 million
- Pennsylvania measles cases rise among pregnant women and adults
- Ohio State study links wastewater bacteria to community health