IBADAN — The Oyo State Government has taken a strategic step towards building a climate-resilient health system with the inauguration of the Oyo State Technical Working Group on Climate and Health (TWG).
Inaugurated by the Ministry of Health on Wednesday, the multi-sectoral body is designed to strengthen the State’s capacity to anticipate, prevent and respond to the growing health consequences of climate change.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, said climate change had moved beyond an environmental concern to an urgent public health challenge, with rising temperatures, irregular rainfall, flooding and environmental degradation already exposing residents to heat-related illnesses, infectious diseases, respiratory conditions, food insecurity and other emergencies.
She said the TWG, comprising relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, technical experts, WHO, UNICEF, NiMet, academia and development partners, would provide coordinated technical guidance on climate-health risk assessment, preparedness, evidence generation and policy integration.
The Commissioner stressed that a climate-resilient health system could not be achieved by the health sector alone, urging government institutions, development partners, academia, civil society, the private sector and communities to contribute actively to the initiative.
Representing the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Akintunde Ayinde, the Director of Tertiary Health Care Services, Dr. Idris Fasasi, described the initiative as a decisive shift from reacting to climate-related emergencies to anticipation, prevention, preparedness and resilience.
He said the TWG would identify climate-related health risks, strengthen disease surveillance and early-warning systems, improve community preparedness, mobilise sustainable financing and integrate climate-health priorities into government policies, budgets and programmes.
Fasasi also highlighted the need for climate-resilient health facilities equipped with reliable energy, safe water, sanitation and effective waste-management systems, while urging priority attention to vulnerable groups, including children, pregnant women, older persons, persons with disabilities, people with chronic illnesses, low-income households, farmers, outdoor workers and residents of flood-prone communities.
He called for stronger research collaboration with the University of Ibadan and other institutions to generate locally relevant evidence and solutions.
“Success will not be measured by the number of meetings or reports produced, but by whether our people become safer and our health system more resilient,” he said.
Earlier, the Director of Public Health, Dr. Olaniyan Babatunde, urged members of the TWG to remain proactive and committed to delivering practical interventions capable of safeguarding public health amid changing climatic conditions.
The inauguration, attended by senior Ministry officials, representatives of MDAs, technical experts and development partners, reinforces the Seyi Makinde administration’s broader push for coordinated, preventive and resilient public health governance in Oyo State.
