September 9, 2026
Nadi, Fiji – Pacific health and climate leaders launched the Pacific Network for Health and Climate Change Action Plan 2026–2028, setting out a shared framework to accelerate action to protect the health and wellbeing of more than 14 million people living in the Pacific, including Papua New Guinea, from the impacts of climate change.
The Action Plan was launched at the second Pacific Conference on Health and Climate Change, being held in Nadi, Fiji, from 9–11 September.
The conference, co-organized by the Pacific Community (SPC), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), brings together around 65 regional leaders, climate and health experts, partners, researchers and civil society to shape the next phase of health and climate action in the Pacific.
Climate change is worsening existing public health challenges.
Rising temperatures, extreme weather events like floods and cyclones, water insecurity, and climate-sensitive diseases are increasingly threatening the health and wellbeing of Pacific communities.
Climate change also causes damage to health facilities and infrastructure, disrupts essential health services and places additional pressures on communities and health workers.
For Pacific Island countries and areas, addressing these risks requires strong health systems, coordinated action across sectors, and sustained investment in climate resilience that benefits health.
Across the region, countries are strengthening disease surveillance systems, undertaking climate and health vulnerability assessments, investing in resilient health facilities, expanding renewable energy solutions, building workforce capacity on climate and health, and integrating climate considerations into health planning by developing national health adaptation plans.
The new Action Plan provides a platform for Pacific countries to collectively strengthen this important work across six priority areas:
leadership and governance;
collaboration, coordination and networking;
capacity building;
monitoring, research and data sharing;
climate financing for health; and
public awareness and engagement.
The Action Plan was developed through a consultative process led by the Pacific Network for Health and Climate Change.
The network was formally endorsed at the Pacific Heads of Health Meeting in 2024 and is tasked with advancing collective Pacific wide coordinated and accelerated health and climate action.
The process to develop the Action Plan has emphasized country leadership and ownership, ensuring that the Action Plan reflects national priorities while leveraging regional and partner support.
Strengthening the Pacific voice ahead of COP31
The Pacific Conference on Health and Climate Change comes at an important time for global climate and health action, with the Pacific preparing to play a critical role in discussions leading up to COP31, including through the role Tuvalu and Fiji will play as hosts for the pre-COP31 dialogue.
The conference provides an opportunity for Pacific countries and partners to consolidate regional priorities and develop an outcome statement that can help inform health and climate discussions at pre-COP31 and COP31.
With the Action Plan now launched, the Pacific is strengthening its collective platform to ensure that health remains central to climate action and that Pacific priorities and experiences continue to inform regional and global climate discussions.
“Climate and health policy can no longer be pursued separately. For the Pacific, investing in resilient infrastructure, reliable water and energy systems, climate-informed surveillance, early warning, and a well-prepared health workforce is not optional. It is essential”, said Fiji United Nations Resident Coordinator, Mr Dirk Wagener.
“The Pacific is not only calling for climate action – we are already delivering it. The Pacific Network for Health and Climate Change Action Plan demonstrates the leadership of Pacific countries and partners in protecting the health and wellbeing of our people in a changing climate,” Fiji Assistant Minister for Health and Medical Services, Hon. Penioni Ravunawa. “This conference gives us an important opportunity to bring together our shared Pacific priorities and ensure that our voices and lived realities are reflected in the global climate discussions at the Pacific Pre-COP31 and COP31.”
“The Pacific Network for Health and Climate Change Action Plan is an important commitment to turning our shared priorities into practical action,” said Cook Islands Secretary of Health, Mr Bob Williams. “Our response requires collective action and strong Pacific leadership – this Action Plan prioritises both, ensuring we work together to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our people and our future.”
“The Pacific is showing that climate and health action can be practical, locally led and grounded in the realities of communities. This should give us confidence that despite the huge challenges countries face, guided by the action plan, much can be done to further protect the health of people in the Pacific”, WHO Representative to the South Pacific and the Director of Pacific Technical Support, Dr Mark Jacobs.
Quotes attributable to Pacific Community (SPC) Director of the Public Health Division, Dr Berlin Kafoa
“Climate change is one of the greatest health challenges facing the Pacific, but it is also an opportunity to strengthen our health systems and build more resilient communities,” Pacific Community (SPC) Director of the Public Health Division, Dr Berlin Kafoa. “This Action Plan provides a practical roadmap for countries and partners to work together, share knowledge and accelerate action that protects the health and wellbeing of Pacific people now and for future generations.”
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