As health institutions throughout the world declare a code red emergency for the health of the planet, AFMC is committed to the immediate implementation of planetary health education, research, and the transition to climate-resilient and low-carbon health systems to build a healthy, sustainable, and just future for all. In alignment with the social and environmental accountability mandates of our Faculties, the AFMC Board of Directors has recently increased the scope of the AFMC Network on Global Health to now be named the AFMC Committee on Planetary and Global Health.

Additionally, the AFMC International Declaration Development Committee will be officially unveiling the Academic Health Institutions’ Declaration on Planetary Health at a dedicated plenary event at ICAM 2023 in Québec City. The declaration, developed by Canadian and international medical education and planetary health experts, calls on all academic health institutions to take immediate action to halt both the negative impact of their activities on the planet’s natural systems, and to institute adaptive and regenerative measures, including through advocacy. The declaration details an action plan for academic health institutions to advance planetary health education and research by actively addressing environmental, social, and structural determinants of health. Further, the declaration adopts a community-based approach and calls for signatories to advocate for investments in public health, primary care, and health system climate resilience.