We had a meeting of people from the energy and health sectors this morning. There was one intervention by the Second Lady of Ghana that really caught my attention.
As you know, 3 billion people globally lack access to clean fuels for cooking, and as a result, 4 million deaths globally.
She was making a point, saying a woman in a rural area can spend two hours looking for wood, maybe one more hour fetching water and a couple of hours or even several hours cooking and then feeding the family, and then back to cleaning and the cycle continues.
This means no education for the girl, this means exposure to air pollution and this is at the expense of her health and could cause death. Not only is the girl affected but the whole society and the country will be impacted.
So, the energy link is very, very powerful. That’s the major problem, it’s all a web, it’s connected, and we have to address it in a comprehensive way.
Because it’s not just about ill health, its impact is really tremendous.
So, I just wanted to start by sharing with you what the Second Lady of Ghana shared with us this morning, because unfortunately she is not speaking here this morning.
Second, I would like thank Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol of Thailand. She was our first speaker and she was so powerful; her presence alone was so powerful. The level of commitment is incredible and her passion too. That simple act is enough. She came because she thinks air pollution is at a crisis level as my brother Erik said, and we have to do something about it.
Her disability didn’t stop her and that’s a strong message. I was so moved and touched, and I hope you were too. And I would actually ask you although she is not around if we can give her a standing ovation for joining us and for her comments.
She is also very active with rabies and her commitment in that area is also incredible and she gives us energy and inspiration.
I think you will agree that the last two days have been both sobering and inspiring.
We have been reminded of the devastating effect that air pollution is having on human health.
We have seen how the very act of breathing, which is fundamental to human life, is responsible for the deaths of 7 million people every single year, including 600,000 children.
We have been reminded that 9 out of 10 people globally breathe polluted air.
And we have been reminded about the tremendous link between air pollution and climate change.
But we have also seen that there is a lot that we can do about it. There are many opportunities for action.
We have been inspired and encouraged by innovative ideas from around the world, from both the health sector and other sectors, in cities and at the national level.
Just outside this room you might have seen the display of cities all around the world that are taking action on air pollution.
Let me mention just a few of them to you.
In my speech it mentions which country does what but since we are behind schedule I will just mention the countries and you will find out what they are doing as pathfinders in air pollution.
London and China, of course, as Erik already mentioned.
Hanoi, Mongolia, Cape Town, Ljubljana from Slovenia, Concepcion from Chile, Washington D.C., Nairobi, Malé, Maldives.
Of course Oslo, one of the first ones, Erik’s country.
And from the Basque Country, Bogota, Catalonia, Freiburg, Jalisco State, Kampala, Los Angeles, Greater Manchester, Mexico City, Nepal, Paris, Puglia, Santiago, Sarajevo, Seoul, Talca, Valle de Aburra, Vancouver and Wallonia.
Maybe I have missed some but this is already a big number. It’s just to indicate that the movement is really growing.
And there are even more cities that have signed up to the BreatheLife campaign, and thank you to Monaco for announcing its joining of the coalition.
My point is that each of these cities shows that fighting air pollution is not just an aspiration that we hope will happen sometime in the future – it’s a reality that’s happening now.
It’s a global movement that is growing all the time. Cities and countries that join this movement stand to prosper. Those that don’t will be left behind.
On World Cities Day yesterday, I wrote an open letter to all mayors globally urging them to join the BreatheLife movement and to take action to clean up the air their citizens breathe.
Today, I am making the same call to all of you.
But we’re not just calling on cities. We all have a role to play – national governments, civil society, the private sector, academics, WHO and all of the UN family.
We all need to play our part. Today is the day we can do that. Today is the day for action and commitment.
But real change does not just happen by itself. It takes resolute political will, solid science, meticulous planning, close partnership and determined implementation.
It will take leadership from the health sector, but all sectors must be involved in creating policies that protect both human health and our planet – energy, housing, transport, waste and more.
WHO stands ready to support all cities and countries with evidence-based guidelines and technical know-how to support you in choosing the best solutions for your situation.
Air pollution knows no boundaries – so we must know no boundaries in our efforts to stop it.
I look forward to hearing from all how you will help make the air we breathe life-giving instead of death-inducing where you live.
Thank you so much.