Reversing climate change could be the greatest health
accomplishment of the 21st century.
In an article in the US magazine ‘Fortune’ to coincide
with the climate change summit in Poland, Dr. Eidelman President WMA writes
that if doctors wanted to fully uphold the Declaration of Geneva’s creed that ‘the
health and well-being of my patient will be my first consideration’, they
needed to take an active role in defending their patients from the adverse
effects of climate change.
Physicians are well suited to play this role. They often
have close relationships with patients and their families and had an obligation
not only to diagnose and treat the damage caused by climate change, but also to
advice.
Patients should be told to become more conscious in their
use of transportation, living in environmentally efficient housing and eating
conscientiously—which means less meat, less wasting food, and using fewer
single-use products and packaging.’
Doctors also should look at their own practice. High tech
modern medicine was also high in energy and material consumption and this had a
price in energy consumption, single-use products and abundant packaging of
medical products.
The WMA supports physicians in investigating the
environmental footprint of their practices with initiatives, such as ‘My Green
Doctor’, a guide for doctors on implementing environmentally friendly
practices.
Some medical organizations have commonly decided to
divest from high carbon dioxide-producing industries and to boost our
environmentally responsible investing.
Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma
Shri Awardee
President Elect Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and
Oceania (CMAAO)
Group
Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications
President
Heart Care Foundation of India
Immediate Past National President IMA
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