Countries worldwide are failing to meet their commitments to enhance the sustainability of health care systems, according to a recent study co-led by Jodi Sherman from Yale University.
The study highlights a range of shortcomings, including inadequate assessment and monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions, along with insufficient planning to strengthen and sustain health care systems. Researchers argue that these deficiencies significantly hinder the potential for substantial sustainability improvements in a sector known for its high carbon footprint.
“The health care sector is responsible for nearly 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions and leads to 4 million Disability Adjusted Life Years lost each year,” stated Jodi Sherman, an associate professor of anesthesiology at the Yale School of Medicine and of epidemiology in environmental health sciences at the Yale School of Public Health. She is also a co-senior author of the study.
Sherman added, “As the demand for health care increases due to climate- and pollution-related illnesses, health systems must also enhance their resilience to extreme weather events.”
Published in Lancet Planetary Health, the study involved an international team that examined the progress—or lack thereof—among more than 80 countries that endorsed initiatives from the COP26 Health Programme, established during the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in 2021. This program encourages a tiered commitment system for developing climate-resilient, low-carbon health systems.
However, the findings reveal that only 30% of countries with commitments have conducted necessary vulnerability and adaptation assessments of their health care systems. While 85 countries pledged to implement low-emission or net-zero health care systems, these nations collectively account for merely 26% of global health care emissions. Alarmingly, only 11% of these countries have assessed their health care emissions, and less than half have incorporated health care into their national climate strategies.
The study points to significant gaps in monitoring the progress of sustainable health care initiatives through existing or proposed indicators from the World Health Organization. The authors expressed concerns that current indicators do not adequately reflect sustainability advancements, raising the issue of “greenwashing”—the practice of presenting data that falsely suggests meaningful progress toward sustainability.
“The lack of independent monitoring and the absence of robust, outcome-oriented indicators for sustainable health care is deeply concerning,” said Iris Martine Blom, the first author of the study and a physician and Ph.D. candidate at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. “Without effective tracking, we risk creating an illusion of progress while neglecting the necessary work to transform our health systems.”
The need for countries to establish and integrate more effective outcome indicators for their health care systems. Such monitoring is vital to ensure that international commitments lead to tangible improvements in sustainability.
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