The Latest on the Planetary Health Annual Meeting

“Leave no one behind. That defining principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a shared promise by every country to work together to secure the rights and well-being of everyone on a healthy, thriving planet. But halfway to 2030, that promise is in peril. The Sustainable Development Goals are disappearing in the rear-view mirror, as is the hope and rights of current and future generations. A fundamental shift is needed — in commitment, solidarity, financing and action — to put the world on a better path. And it is needed now.”

So said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his latest progress report on the SDGs. As we all come back down to earth after the SDG Mid-Term Review, the UN Climate Ambition Summit and other events highlighting the peril people and planet are in, his call for a shift resonate with the preparatory work for the 2024 Planetary Health Annual Meeting.

And so a very big thank you to those of you engaged in our deliberations across governance, education, communications and private sector engagement. We’re developing a roadmap for these four key Planetary Health enablers that will help to ensure that the meeting delivers on its title — “From Evidence to Action: Confronting Reality” and that we thereby deliver on our mission to accelerate transformation.

As we think collectively around “how” to do this, the outcome of the 2023 Global Futures Conference held in New York last month, and the “Ten Must Haves Report” identifies ten things that humanity “must have” in order to redress our relationship with the planet. This is useful guidance and is a ‘must read’ for Alliance members and especially participants at PHAM2024. Read the latest draft of the report here: https://globalfuturesconference.org/10-must-haves/.

The organising team is also keen to capitalize on and amplify the wonderful Sao Palo Declaration on Planetary Health — the key outcome of the 2021 Annual Meeting — and will be reaching out to PHA regional groups for support in the drafting process which, like the 2021 Declaration, aims to be inclusive and participatory.

Programme Sneak Peek

Experiential Learning: An excursion trip to Rimba Ilmu (Forest of Knowledge), a tropical botanical garden, will be part of the PHAM2024 experience, providing PHAM2024 participants an in-depth knowledge of tropical plant life and its environment, ecology and conservation. Rimba Ilmu contains flora from Malaysia and Indonesia as well as plant species from other parts of the region. Join us at this pre-conference event planned for the 15th of April 2024.

Standby for more details on the programme next month.

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