Creating an Environmentally Sustainable Health System Demands a Socially Accountable Approach in a Post-COVID World.

ABSTRACT

The impacts of climate change can already be seen among many of the patients in our clinics and emergency rooms, and as with all disasters, the most impoverished and marginalized members of society are the hardest hit. The health system has a social accountability role to anticipate and respond to the evolving health needs of our society. We are the stewards of this planet, steering the course through current and future challenges. What we do now will determine what the world will be like for our children and grandchildren. At times like this, more than ever before, health workers around the world must unite and engage in contributing to shaping future policy directions and monitoring progress to create a post-COVID world where social accountability and sustainable development go hand in hand.