©️MSPP
Port-au-Prince, September 5, 2025.- Faced with one of the highest climate vulnerabilities in the world, Haiti presented its National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change for Health (PNAS) on Thursday, September 4. The initiative, led by the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) through the Department of Health Promotion and Environmental Protection (DPSPE), aims to prepare the national health system for the increasing impacts of natural disasters, extreme heat and climate-sensitive infectious diseases.
According to Dr. Francisco Noël, Director of DPSPE/MSPP, Haiti ranks first in terms of climate risk and third in the long term. « Climate change increases the incidence of diseases such as malaria, dengue, and chikungunya, due to the proliferation of mosquitoes that are favored by intense heat and rain »he stressed, recalling that 96 per cent of the population is exposed to climate hazards according to the World Bank.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), represented by Dr. Oscar Bareneche, welcomed this initiative, qualifying it as « clear signal of national will ». For her part, Ferry Pierre, Director of Climate Change at the Ministry of the Environment, urged public and private actors to become actively involved in the implementation and evaluation of the plan.
MSPP Director General Dr. Gabriel Timothy acknowledged that climate change « can have a direct impact on the Haitian health system ». He stated that his Ministry was making every effort to reorient health policy in order to reduce human losses in natural disasters.
The Minister of Public Health, Dr. Signal Bertrand, absent at the ceremony, was represented by Ms.Jisette Letelier.
With the PNAS, Haiti seeks to transform an alarming observation into a coordinated response, mobilizing the state, civil society, technical and financial partners to protect the health of citizens in the face of increasing climate risks.
W.A.
