The environment in global health governance: an analysis of environment-related resolutions adopted at the World Health Assembly from 1948 to 2023

Background

The concept of planetary health underscores the intricate relationship between environmental concerns and global health. This interconnection raises an important question related to cross-sectoral policy development: to what extent are environmental issues integrated into global health governance? To address this question, this study examines resolutions adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA) from 1948 to 2023.

Methods

Based on a systematic text search for environmental issues, this study examines the evolution of the occurrence and content of resolutions adopted by the WHA and the structure and pattern of connectivity of the normative network of resolutions regarding environment-related resolutions from 1948 to 2023. Environment-related resolutions were processed in the Python environment using relevant packages, such as Pandas, Numpy, and Matplotlib. Regular expressions were employed to identify citations among resolutions and construct a directed citation network. The network was then examined using NetworkX and Graph-Tool.

Findings

Despite important variations in the attention dedicated to environmental issues in resolutions adopted by the WHA, the proportion of environment-related resolutions adopted each year has increased. The number of topics and their diversity have also expanded. Although environment-specific resolutions are well connected to each other, they are more weakly connected to environment-related resolutions, and not well connected to non-environment-related resolutions, suggesting potential silos in policy development. This study shows that several topical entry points exist for a deeper integration of environmental concerns in global health governance.

Interpretation

The findings of this study indicate not only the growing reference to environmental concerns in global health governance, but also an evolution of the understanding of the environment as a key driver of the health of the people. However, there remains room for more comprehensive integration across all areas of global health policy. The study emphasises both the need for active participation in global environmental governance processes that affect health and the importance of minimising the health sector's contribution to environmental problems.