📢 Governments must treat clean air as a core part of NCD prevention and a smart economic investment, leaders said at a
#WHA79 side event hosted by NCD Alliance and the Union for
@uicc .
The event, The Clean Air Dividend: Investing in Health for All, highlighted the urgent need to shift investment away from polluting activities and toward solutions that protect health.
🗨️ "Air pollution is not a natural accident — it is the result of political decisions. Clean air is not negotiable; it is a foundation for dignity and life," said Dr Rüdiger Krech, Director of Environment, Climate Change and Migration at WHO, opening the event.
🗨️ Rosie Tasker from UICC pointed to rising
#lungcancer cases among people who have never smoked, showing why air pollution must be treated as a growing public health crisis.
🗨️ Our own Rachael Stanton highlighted that "Air pollution is driving and worsening NCDs, but the solutions offer a triple win: cleaner air, healthier populations, and a safer climate.”
🗨️ Pedro Gullón Tosio, General Director of Public Health and Equity at Spain’s Ministry of Health, shared lessons from Spain’s experience implementing low-emission zones, highlighting the importance of governance, evidence and equity.
🗨️ Astrid Puentes Riaño, UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a healthy environment, reminded the room that clean air action must also be understood as a human rights issue.
🗨️ “The case for clean air is not new spending, but cost avoidance — especially since 71% of clean air measures deliver net economic benefits,” said Chhavi Bhandari from
@GeorgeInstIN.
🗨️ Seema Bali, Our Views, Our Voices Global Advisory Committee member and co-chair of the Healthy India Alliance National Network of People Living with NCDs, stressed that communities must be continuously involved in shaping clean air policies, not consulted as a one-off exercise.
🗨️ The event closed with a call to
#ActOnNCDs and air pollution from partners, including Christie Oliver of
@Haleon_health , and Nina R., of
@CleanAirFund .
🗨️ In closing remarks,
@DrMariaNeira, Senior Fellow at the Clean Air Fund, said health professionals have a critical role to play in communicating the health risks of air pollution, including its links to cancer.
You can find more highlights here 👉
ncdalliance.org/stories/news…