The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the important link between the energy and health sectors, the World Health Organisation chief has said.
Speaking at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week on Monday, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “access to electricity meant the difference between life and death” in the pandemic, as medical professionals need to operate vital medical equipment and maintain cold chain for vaccines.
The director general of the organisation said that a billion people around the world were served in hospitals and clinics that operate without power.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical link between energy and health. Yet, a billion people are still served by healthcare facilities without power and rely on dirty energy at home,” he said in an online address.
Last year, the High Level Coalition on Health and Energy endorsed a plan that laid out priority actions.
Dr Ghebreyesus said the first goal was to dramatically increase investment in electrifying healthcare facilities and in clean cooking.
“Second, provide the necessary resources to design and implement clean energy plans tailored to the needs of the health sector,” he said.
“Third, develop policy and finance schemes to unlock the potential of clean energy solutions and to address the health sector needs.”
He said that the polluting energy sources were driving the climate crisis, bringing extreme weather, spreading infectious diseases and threatening to destroy vulnerable communities.
According to the Rockefeller Foundation, a US-based non-profit organisation, a quarter of healthcare facilities in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia have no electricity, and nearly three-quarters of those have unreliable power.
A recent study that analysed more than 121,000 health facilities in 46 low and middle-income countries found that almost 60 per cent of them lacked access to reliable electricity.
Dr Rajiv Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, said last year that every family in the world deserved access to a healthcare worker.
“You cannot run an effective healthcare clinic without electricity for lighting, sterilisation of equipment and storage of vital vaccines and medication,” he said.
“We’ve been reminded again during the pandemic why it is so risky for only the wealthy few to have access to the modern technology and data-driven health care that requires reliable electricity.”
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2022: in pictures
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Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
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The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
Leeds United 0
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2017 Maserati Quattroporte
Price, base / as tested Dh389,000 / Dh559,000
Engine 3.0L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 530hp @ 6,800rpm
Torque 650Nm @ 2,000 rpm
Fuel economy, combined 10.7L / 100km
RESULTS
6.30pm: Handicap (rated 100 ) US$175,000 1,200m
Winner: Baccarat, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (78-94) $60,000 1,800m
Winner: Baroot, Christophe Soumillon, Mike de Kock
7.40pm: Firebreak Stakes Group 3 $200,000 1,600m
Winner: Heavy Metal, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.15pm: Handicap (95-108) $125,000 1,200m
Winner: Yalta, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.50pm: Balanchine Group 2 $200,000 1,800m
Winner: Promising Run, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm: Handicap (95-105) $125,000 1,800m
Winner: Blair House, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
10pm: Handicap (95-105) $125,000 1,400m
Winner: Oh This Is Us, Tom Marquand, Richard Hannon
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
