Doctors, nurses, Indigenous leaders and activists denounce the impacts of the climate emergency on health in Brazil and around the world
Photos and videos of the march here
Belém (PA), November 11, 2025 — Doctors, nurses, students, Indigenous leaders, and representatives of social movements took to the streets of Belém this Tuesday (11) during the Global March for Health and Climate, an unprecedented action that denounced one of the most neglected dimensions of the climate emergency: public health.
The event brought together thousands of participants along a 1.5 km route between the Embassy of Peoples and the Blue Zone of COP30, with banners and chants calling out: “Health and Climate, one single struggle” and “No healthy planet, no future.”
The march was organized by the Doctors for Climate Movement, created by the Instituto Ar, in partnership with the Amazon Working Network (GTA), which defends forest peoples and Amazonian diversity. Partner organizations also included Fiocruz, Regional Nursing Council of Pará (COREN-PA), 350.org Brazil, Manas da Periferia, Coletivo Pororoka, Sustainable Health Movement, Doctors Without Borders, Red Clima Salud, Juntos!, DNDi, Planetary Health Working Group of SBMFC, Hospitais Saudáveis, IPSA, CIRAT, IPAD, and the Global Climate and Health Alliance, with support from RD Saúde.
The mobilization also featured public authorities such as Mario Moreira, president of Fiocruz; Mario Massuda, executive secretary of the Ministry of Health; and Weibe Tapeba, head of the Indigenous Health Department.
The climate crisis is already making the world sick
According to the movements, the climate crisis is already compromising the health of millions of Brazilians.
Rising temperatures worsen cases of heat stress and cardiovascular diseases; air pollution exacerbates asthma and bronchitis; and extreme events such as floods and prolonged droughts affect water supply, food production, and increase diseases such as dengue, zika, and malaria.
The psychological impacts—material loss, forced displacement, and fear of the future—have also increased cases of anxiety, depression, and mental suffering, especially among vulnerable populations.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 2030 and 2050, the climate crisis will cause an additional 250,000 deaths per year, and direct health-related costs are expected to reach up to US$ 4 billion annually by 2030.
Statements
Luti Guedes, coordinator of the Energia dos Povos campaign, 350.org:
“In the Amazon, the climate crisis is already a health emergency. Extreme heat, smoke from fires, river contamination, and lack of electricity in communities show that we can no longer separate climate, health, and justice. While the government talks about transition, people’s lives remain at risk. We are here at COP to say that caring for the Amazon means caring for the health of Brazil and the world — and that this transition will only be just if it starts from the territories that resist.”
Ilan Zugman, Latin America and Caribbean Managing Director, 350.org:“Talking about health at COP means talking about the lives of people on the frontlines of the climate crisis. There is no health without a stable climate, and no stable climate with oil, gas, and coal expanding across territories. The Global March for Health and Climate is a call for governments to stop treating the energy transition as a technical debate and place it at the heart of life and care policies. We need clean and accessible energy for all — not false solutions that make the planet sick.”
Evangelina Araújo, pathologist and founder of the Instituto Ar:“Climate change today is a health crisis. The impacts are enormous: illness, deaths, and an immense burden on health systems. Brazil needs to move out of inertia and prepare. We lack planning, protocols, and emergency plans to face disasters like floods, droughts, and fires. Health must be at the center of this response because these impacts directly affect people’s lives.”
Danielle Cruz, coordinator of the Sustainable Health Movement:“This dialogue often happens in a fragmented way, especially within government, where departments are treated as if they were completely separate. We keep addressing only the consequences of climate change on health when, in fact, the environment should be recognized as part of health promotion. This perspective is already present in our training as professionals within Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS), but it still needs to be integrated into practice and public policy.”
Press contact
Mariana Abdalla
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