Health Care Without Harm

The Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee?#INC5 started today at Busan and our international delegation is on the ground, raising the voice of the health care sector and calling for an ambitious and just health-centered global plastics treaty that addresses plastic pollution without exempting the health sector. ? Individuals and organizations representing over 18 million health professionals have endorsed our Open letter calling for a just and equitable treaty that respects human rights, limits the production of plastics, prioritizes detoxification, and eliminates unnecessary plastic products, including single-use. https://lnkd.in/g2FGTigZ

READ: The health sector is rising up this #INC5 to call for a health-centered Global Plastics Treaty! ?? As INC-5 officially kickstarts today in Busan, South Korea, our team at Health Care Without Harm—representing regions from Africa, Europe, Latin America, North America, and South East Asia—will be on the ground, right at the heart of the action. ?? Watch this space for more on-the-ground updates at INC-5 and join the fight for a just and equitable #GlobalPlasticsTreaty! Read the press release at bit.ly/HCWHatINC5 #INC5 #PlasticsTreatyForHealth #GlobalPlasticsTreaty #HealthCareWitoutHarmSEA Health Care Without Harm Health Care Without Harm Europe Salud sin Da?o

Health Care Without Harm is pleased to announce we have joined the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Better Buildings' #BetterClimateChallenge (BCC) as an Ally organization in support of the more than 150 BCC partners, including health care organizations, committing to reduce portfolio-wide greenhouse gas emissions (scope 1 & 2) by at least 50% within 10 years. Learn more about this important program. ??

As COP29 Azerbaijan comes to a close, we celebrate the incredible efforts of our delegation on the ground. This year, the global health community reaffirmed its commitment to low-carbon, climate-resilient health care by measuring health care emissions and implementing net zero roadmaps across health systems. We invite you to rewatch some of the key events we participated in: ?? Healthcare Emissions and Net Zero Roadmaps for Health Systems: Methodology and Lessons Learnt from Health Leaders (see Day 2 recording):?https://lnkd.in/dGwf-rhG ??Transforming Health Care: Strategies to Address Impacts of Climate Change:?https://lnkd.in/eQv7gdzZ ??Race to Resilience in Action: 2024 Update:?https://lnkd.in/eBBegrwN ??ATACH Day - Low-carbon sustainable health systems (see Day 6 recording):?https://lnkd.in/dGwf-rhG Let’s keep the momentum going! Together, we can achieve net zero carbon emissions. ?? Learn more about our work with the health care sector: https://lnkd.in/d27EhFJb #COP29

?? Our delegation is already in Busan ready to advocate for a health-centered Global Plastics Treaty in #INC5. The health care sector is a major plastic consumer and generates a significant amount of plastic waste. But the sector can also lead in the transformation to break our reliance on plastic health care products. Many facilities worldwide are already taking action and promoting sustainable procurement and reducing single-use plastics, as shown by our Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Network. ?? We need the rest of the world, especially the plastic-producing industries to do the same. Take action now by sending an email to the INC-5 delegation at https://lnkd.in/gdNEQZA9. Amplify our calls for a treaty that protects the planet AND our people by signing the open letter at https://lnkd.in/g2FGTigZ.

We need an end to the age of plastic. ?? Plastic pollution poses a serious threat to human and planetary health at every stage of its life cycle – not only during disposal. Plastics often contain thousands of hazardous additives, such as carcinogens, neurotoxicants, and endocrine disruptors, that can leach from products and waste. These persist in the environment and endanger patients, communities, workers (including waste handlers), and ecosystems. Vulnerable groups like fetuses, newborns, and young children are especially at risk from exposure to these harmful chemicals. In the health sector, medical plastics are as toxic as any other waste and need to be detoxified and reduced. The irony is that these same plastics also threaten human health because they contain toxic chemicals, emit greenhouse gases, create large amounts of waste, and break down into microplastics, just as other plastics. Stand with us and join the call for a just and equitable Global Plastics Treaty. Sign the petition at https://lnkd.in/geBEuWXE. ??

This insightful article from the Stanford Social Innovation Review highlights the critical role of system orchestrators, which build ecosystems of actors to move a broader systems change strategy. "What does system orchestration look like in practice? Spanning sectors and ecosystems, Health Care Without Harm is illustrative of the indispensability of system orchestrators to systemic change...Its orchestration approach incubates, connects, and scales grassroots initiatives to create systems-level shifts in policy and practices." Thank you to Don Gips of Skoll Foundation, Tulaine M. of New Profit, Rohini Nilekani of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, and Cristiane Sultaniof Instituto Beja for co-authoring this powerful piece and elevating Health Care Without Harm's role as a systems orchestrator. Read more?? ??

Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) is searching for a Chief Executive Officer to lead this highly regarded and innovative organization into its next chapter of impact. This is a unique opportunity to work at the nexus of health and climate action,?guiding a global mission focused on creating sustainable, equitable, and climate-resilient healthcare systems. To learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/eNw3i57n This search is being led by Melissa Merritt, Kevin Bryant, Mollie Vermillion, Nathaniel Rodriguez Sosa. #GoodCitizen #Leadership #Sustainability #Healthcare #NonprofitLeadership

Thank you to the MacArthur Foundation and their Senior Program Officer Mijo Vodopi? for spotlighting Health Care Without Harm as one of their grantee partners focusing on innovative climate solutions.? Read more about our work to transform the health care sector to mitigate the climate crisis and its impacts on human health, and how we're bringing doctors and nurses front and center to share about improved health outcomes when pollution is managed. ??