The Brazilian government launched the Belém Action Plan for Adapting the Health Sector to Climate Change on Thursday (13). The proposal was presented by Health Minister Alexandre Padilha during a high-level ministerial event at the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30).
According to Padilha, the plan aims to strengthen the resilience and adaptive capacity of Brazil’s health system in the face of climate change. To illustrate the urgency, he cited the recent case of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, in the state of Paraná, which was hit by a severe tornado with winds of 300 km/h on November 7. Several primary health care units were destroyed, directly affecting the delivery of services in the region.
“Health is the most painful face of the impact of climate change,” the minister said. The Belém Plan, as the initiative is being called, is structured around three pillars: data monitoring and early warning systems, strengthening the resilience of health infrastructure, and technological innovation. Padilha emphasized that Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS) already incorporates policies for resilience and adaptation.
“The climate crisis is already a health crisis. Beyond mitigation, we need to adapt, and we need to do it now,” he said.
Philanthropic organizations gathered in the Climate and Health Funders Coalition have announced an investment of US$ 300 million to support implementation. COP CEO Ana Toni highlighted Brazil’s leadership on the issue, noting that the plan is the first document in all of COP’s history to place health at the center of adaptation goals.
“In Brazil we have the Unified Health System, and bringing SUS to the heart of the COP makes health a priority. We already have 80 countries and international partners participating in this Action Plan, and that is fundamental for advancing the next steps,” she said.
