Climate change is a key concern for the health sector at large and certainly for our profession. Reflecting on our commitment to sustainable healthcare, the NHAA is a proud member of the Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA); Australia’s peak body on health and climate change.
Climate disasters can overwhelm our healthcare systems, compromise people’s safety, and ultimately cost lives. Naturopaths and herbalists play a significant role within communities, including during climate disasters. Not many of us could forget how our profession rallied in the face of the Northern Rivers floods in 2022.
The Commonwealth Government launched its National Health and Climate Strategy (NHCS) in December 2023 to facilitate a health system that can anticipate, respond to, adapt to, and recover from the stresses caused by extreme weather and climate disasters. Recently, the NHAA was one of 40 organisations supporting a joint statement by CAHA calling for funding of the NHCS in the 2024/25 budget. This petition was published in the Daily Telegraph, and the story has been syndicated over 100 times. If you would like to influence the government to put this strategy into action and fulfil its promise of a climate-resilient future, add your name at the link below.