World Health Organization Western Pacific regional director Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala has added his voice to growing calls for the climate crisis to be formally declared a public health emergency of international concern, telling delegates at the World Health Assembly in Geneva that Pacific countries are already living with the consequences every day. Speaking to the global health body, Dr Piukala said the question is no longer theoretical for the region’s island states and low-lying communities.
Dr Piukala cited the independent Pan‑European Commission on Climate and Health, convened by WHO’s Regional Office for Europe, saying its findings make the case “abundantly clear” that climate change poses both immediate and long‑term threats. The Commission warned climate impacts now threaten health, food and water security, economies and national security — a constellation of harms that, the report argued, meets the threshold for a global public health emergency.
“For us, climate change is not a distant threat. It is already affecting health, livelihoods and security,” Dr Piukala said. He noted the breadth of impacts across the Western Pacific — from small island states facing rising seas to cities contending with heatwaves, flooding and typhoons, and communities burdened by air pollution and climate‑sensitive diseases — arguing these daily realities underpin the push to elevate climate change within both national and global security agendas.
The regional director highlighted ongoing work between the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific and The Lancet on sea level rise, health and justice, describing it as an effort to strengthen evidence and shape policy responses that centre equity. He urged stronger, coordinated action from governments and communities, calling for “whole‑of‑government and whole‑of‑society responses, with health at the centre.”
Piukala’s endorsement is the latest development in a broader campaign by health experts and some national leaders to have the World Health Organization treat the climate crisis with the same emergency framework it applies to infectious disease outbreaks. While the declaration of a "public health emergency of international concern" has traditionally been used for epidemics and pandemics, proponents argue climate change’s cascading and cross‑border impacts — on food, water, displacement and health systems — warrant the same global-level recognition and mobilization.
Dr Piukala also acknowledged international figures who have advanced the climate and health agenda, including former Icelandic prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge and climate and health adviser Robb Butler. His statement adds weight to Pacific calls that have long emphasised lived experience and regional vulnerability; Pacific governments have in recent years pursued resilience measures such as regional disaster risk insurance and climate adaptation financing to shore up communities against increasingly frequent extreme events.
By framing climate change as an immediate public health emergency, advocates hope to accelerate political commitments and resource flows to protect health systems and vulnerable populations. Dr Piukala’s public backing at the WHA signals growing momentum within WHO’s leadership and may intensify discussions on whether and how the organisation should use its emergency declaration powers to respond to a warming world.