By: Nabila Essam

Under the auspices of Dr. Ashraf Sobhy Minister of Youth and Sports, and Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population, the World Health Organization is holding the first Global Youth Forum on Health and Climate Change on Saturday and Sunday (8.9) October, in cooperation with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) and the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA), under the auspices of Dr. Ashraf Sobhi Minister Youth and Sports, and Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population.

The forum aims at promoting the active participation of youth in climate and health work, especially in light of the global preparations for the Climate Conference (COP27) that Egypt will host next November in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Climate change affects health in many ways, either directly by causing death and disease from increasingly frequent extreme weather fluctuations, such as heat waves, storms and floods, disruption of food systems, and an increase in water- or food-borne diseases and affecting mental health or by negatively affecting many social determinants of health, such as equality and access to quality health care.

The Youth and Sports Minister stressed the importance of raising awareness among youth about climate changes through several programmes, projects and initiatives implemented by the Ministry in cooperation with various ministries and relevant authorities, noting the fruitful cooperation between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and various international organizations in order to achieve common goals to serve youth and citizens at various levels.

Sobhy valued the idea of ​​the World Youth Forum on Health and Climate Change, pointing to the follow-up to the results and outcomes of the forum and the study of its most prominent recommendations to prepare them in the form of verifiable programs on the ground, and implement them in cooperation with the Ministry of Health in this regard.

The representative of the World Health Organization in Egypt, Dr. Naeema El-Qaysseer, said, "Young people will have to live with the most severe effects of climate change, and therefore they have an effective and key role in facing the challenges of today and the future. We work at the World Health Organization with youth and for the sake of young people to rebuild better, healthier and more equitable after the Corona pandemic.

The forum will be held virtually and the forum participants will receive a certificate of participation from the World Health Organization.

Applications for participation and registration are open to all via the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-youth-forum-on-health-and-climate-