A ‘Healthy Islands’ framework for climate change in the Pacific

Abstract

SmallPacificIslandcountries(PICs)areamongthemost vulnerablecountriesintheworldtotheanticipated detrimental health effects of climate change. The assessment of health vulnerabilities and planning adaptation strategies to minimize the impacts of climate change on health tests traditional health governance structures and depends on strong linkages and partnerships between actors involved in these vital processes. This article reviews the actors, processes and contexts of the climate change and health vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning project carried out by the World Health OrganizationandhealthsectorpartnersinthreeislandcountriesintheMicronesianregionofthePacific throughout 2010 and 2011: Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau. Despite their shared history and cultural characteristics, the findings and implications of this article are considered to have substantial relevance and potential application to other PICs. The modified ‘Healthy Islands’ framework for climate change and health adaptation presented in this article draws upon real-world experience and governance theory from both the health and climate change literature and, for the first time, places health systems adaptation within the vision for ‘Healthy Islands’ in the Pacific region.