Türkiye secures first-ever health agenda at COP31
Türkiye has placed health on the official agenda of the UN Climate Change Conference COP31 for the first time, Health Ministry Director General for EU and Foreign Relations Aziz Alper Biten announced Monday at the WHO World Health Assembly in Geneva. The achievement, under Türkiye's presidency and hosting role, follows what Biten described as "determined and persistent efforts." The summit, themed "Dynamic and Resilient Health Systems," is set for November in Türkiye.
GENEVA (Reuters) — Türkiye has secured the inclusion of health on the official agenda of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP31 for the first time in the conference's history, a senior Turkish Health Ministry official announced Monday.
Aziz Alper Biten, Health Ministry Director General for European Union and Foreign Relations, made the announcement while speaking during the 79th session of the World Health Organization (WHO) World Health Assembly in Geneva. The remarks came at an event jointly organized by Türkiye and Brazil titled "Belem Health Action Plan: Promoting Continuity in Climate and Health Actions from COP30 to COP31."
"As Türkiye, through determined and persistent efforts, we succeeded in placing health on the COP31 agenda," Biten said. He noted that health ministries had attended previous COP meetings and health-themed days had been organized in the past, but health had never officially been placed on the conference agenda before.
COP31 will be hosted by Türkiye in November under the theme "Dynamic and Resilient Health Systems." Biten said the inclusion of health on the COP agenda had attracted significant attention from countries attending the World Health Assembly and described it as an important development both for COP history and for Türkiye.
"After implementing this, we hope countries around the world will begin addressing health issues as part of future COP agendas," he said.
Highlighting Türkiye's achievements in health care, Biten said the country has shared its experience with many nations in different fields and that COP31 would further strengthen international cooperation. "Through COP31 and this health agenda, we will have the opportunity to share all the experience and achievements we have gained in health care with the world, including neighboring and developed countries," he added.
The announcement builds on Türkiye's preparatory work ahead of the summit, including a regional seas initiative presented on May 14 and a post-earthquake reconstruction model shared with international officials on May 13.