Omnia El Omrani, Youth Envoy for the COP27

"I'm proud to be part of the beautiful health community of young healthcare professionals who believe in their responsibility as the first line responders to the impact of climate change on health. Medical students are working with their institutions to integrate climate change in curriculum. Young health practitioners are prescribing nature to improve their patients' wellbeing when connecting with nature, as well as decarbonizing their healthcare facilities.
However, such youth-led bottom-up approaches remain silos from the top-down negotiation processes because of the little dialogue between the ministers that are in the negotiating rooms and young people who are on the outside. And that is why, as the COP27 presidency in Egypt, we took progressive steps to really transform the integration of young people, as well as centering and ensuring that health and intergenerational equity is far from optional in public and political processes. And this was exemplified by the recognition of the right to a safe, clean and healthy environment in the COP outcome decision, as well as creating the first of its kind dedicated pavilion for children and youth and organizing a youth-led climate forum with ministers, negotiators and chairs of country groups. These instrumental breakthroughs marked a critical turning point for the meaningful engagement of young people in the highest level of political decision making. Similarly, the WHO Youth Council was exceptionally established to reflect the voices of young healthcare professionals who made climate change one of its main working group priorities, as well as the Younger Health Working Group who mobilized thousands of young healthcare professionals in the NFCCC processes."