As climate change increasingly threatens public health, the World Health Organization (WHO) is working closely with Member States in the Western Pacific Region to strengthen climate resilience. At the 10th Global Conference of the Alliance for Healthy Cities , held from 25-27 September 2024 in Seoul, Republic of Korea, WHO convened a special panel: Strategies for Healthy Cities and Islands Addressing the Climate Crisis. The panel, which took place on the second day of the conference, brought together mayors, city leaders and experts to discuss how urban and island communities in the Western Pacific can protect vulnerable populations and build climate-resilient health systems. The WHO Western Pacific Region is home to 1.9 billion people. Three out of five people live in cities, and 100% of Pacific islanders live in vulnerable coastal areas. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events and environmental degradation pose serious risks to health infrastructure and community well-being. For small island developing states, the threats posed by climate change are severe, with health facilities and populations increasingly exposed to storms, floods and rising tides. Speaking at the event, Dr Susan Mercado, Director of Programme Management for the WHO Western Pacific Region, emphasized the role of cities and islands in spearheading climate and health action. She stressed the need for transformative strategies that would “foster health-supportive environments in the face of climate challenges”, building upon international commitments such as the 2015 Paris Agreement , COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development “to accelerate local-level action on climate and health”. Dr Wilfried Kreisel, Chair of the Strategic Advisory Group of the WHO Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health , called for bold, science-based solutions supported by data collected over more than three decades. “We stand at the precipice of an existential challenge […]