WHO publishes 'Quality Criteria for Health National Adaptation Plans'

In response to the impact climate change is having on human health and health systems, countries may decide to develop and implement a health national adaptation plan (HNAP) as part of their national adaptation plan (NAP). The NAP process aims to help countries conduct comprehensive medium and long-term climate adaptation planning, and is a flexible process that builds on each country’s existing activities, supporting the integration of climate change into national decision making.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently published ‘Quality Criteria for Health National Adaptation Plans’, providing policy makers with good practice examples to assist in developing a comprehensive, feasible and implementable HNAP. The quality criteria cover six topic areas for health adaptation planning: 

• leadership and enabling environment 
• cross-sectoral co-ordination and policy coherence 
• comprehensive coverage of climate-sensitive health risks 
• comprehensive coverage of adaptation options and actions 
• resourcing 
• monitoring, evaluation and reporting

The criteria should be used in conjunction with the WHO guidance on protecting health from climate change through health adaptation planning.

Source: WHO, 10 February 2021