Introduction
When we talk about global health, we often think of hospitals, vaccines, or preventive medicine. But the concept goes far beyond that.
According to researcher Miguel Ángel Navas Martín, from the National School of Public Health (ISCIII), global health seeks to improve the well-being of all people by ensuring equity, regardless of where they live, their origin, or their economic situation.
In a world facing an unprecedented climate crisis, understanding this connection between the planet and human well-being is more urgent than ever.
🌱 “There is no health on a sick planet.”- OMS, 2023
(Source: World Health Organization)
What Is Global Health Really About?
Global health does not belong solely to the field of medicine. It is transnational and interdisciplinary, bringing together doctors, sociologists, engineers, economists, and educators.
Its goal is not only to prevent and treat diseases but also to understand the structural causes that create them.
According to Navas Martín, global health is based on three pillars:
- Transnational approach: Health problems know no borders (e.g. COVID-19, air pollution, or climate change).
- Interdisciplinarity It connects science, society, and politics.
- Balance between prevention and clinical care.
The Current Context: What Is Happening to Us?
Spain has experienced clear examples in recent years of how climate change impacts public health:
- Extreme flooding (DANA en Valencia, 2024)
- Mosquito-borne disease outbreaks (West Nile Virus, Andalusia, 2024)
- Record-breaking heatwaves (summer of 2025)
- Over 410,000 hectares burned by wildfires (January–September 2025)
These are not just environmental figures.
Each extreme event affects the physical and mental health of thousands, worsens pre-existing diseases, and overwhelms healthcare systems.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that these phenomena will intensify unless greenhouse gas emissions are drastically reduced.
(Source: IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, 2023)
Health Impacts of Climate Change
According to the WHO, between 2030 and 2050, an additional 250,000 deaths per year could occur due to malnutrition, infectious diseases, heatwaves, and extreme weather events.
((Source: WHO – Climate Change and Health)).
Among the most concerning effects are:
- Water and food shortages.
- Loss of biodiversity.
- Damage to healthcare infrastructure.
- Increase in cardiovascular, respiratory, and mental illnesses.
- Forced displacement and climate migration.
In short, the climate affects all social determinants of health — from food and housing to employment and social stability.
Clima, sociedad y salud: una red invisible pero real
The model proposed by Navas Martín highlights a relationship on five interconnected levels:
- Climate change: Rising CO₂ levels, sea level rise, extreme events.
- Direct effects: Heatwaves, wildfires, floods.
- Indirect effects: Loss of productivity, food insecurity, migration.
- Social determinants: Poverty, inequality, lack of access to services.
- Health impacts: Disease, mortality, hospital overload.
This interconnection demonstrates that human health cannot be separated from the natural environment or from social justice.
Health and Climate Inequalities
Climate change does not affect everyone equally.
Vulnerable communities, the elderly, women, rural or impoverished populations , are the most exposed to heatwaves, droughts, or floods, and the least able to adapt.
For example:
An elderly woman living alone in a rural area during a heatwave faces a triple risk — due to age, isolation, and lack of access to energy resources.
These inequalities overlap and worsen. Therefore, the fight against climate change must also be a fight for health equity.
(Source: Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, 2024)
Why the Climate Crisis Is Also a Health Crisis
Because it:
- Worsens existing diseases
- Increases health inequalities
- Overburdens healthcare systems.
- Triggers displacement and conflict.
- Hits the most vulnerable the hardest.
Ultimately, climate change is not only an environmental issue, but a direct threat to global public health.
Conclusion: Healing the Planet Means Healing People
There is still time to act.
Protecting the planet means investing in prevention, equity, and environmental justice.
Every green policy, every sustainable project, every local action counts — saving thousands of lives and improving the quality of life for millions more.
Global health is not just a challenge — it is an opportunity to rethink how we live, produce, and care for one another. repensar cómo vivimos, producimos y cuidamos.
“Caring for the planet is caring for ourselves.” — Miguel Ángel Navas Martín, ISCIII
References and Sources Consulted
- Miguel Ángel Navas MartínEducando ConCiencias 2030: Global Health – What Is Happening to Us? Salud Global, ¿qué nos está pasando? (National School of Public Health, ISCIII, 2025).
- World Health Organization – Climate Change and Health
- IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, 2023
- Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, 2024
- Ministry for the Ecological Transition (Spain)
