Environment, Climate Change, One Health and Migration (ECO)

We prevent disease by strengthening countries’ environmental health capacities: water, energy, air quality, climate, and emerging risks. Our One Health approach links human, animal, and environmental health, while inclusive systems address migrants’ and refugees’ health needs.

More about us

Technical areas of work

Air Quality, Energy and Health

Chemical Safety and Health

Climate Change and Health

Health and migration

One Health Initiative

Radiation and health

Water Sanitation and Health (WASH)

Settings & populations

Highlights

18 – 24 October 2026

International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week 2026 - From detection to prevention

thermometer on orange sky background

Flagship Initiative against extreme heat and related environmental health risks in workplaces and major events

News

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Departmental update

People, animals, plants, ecosystems: making the case for investing in One Health

Departmental update

New WHO online course strengthens safe and sustainable health-care waste management

Departmental update

WHO/UNICEF report highlights gaps in health facility sanitation

Departmental update

Quadripartite collaboration extends the One Health Joint Plan of Action to 2029

Events

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23 – 27 November 2026

Seventh WHO Global School on Refugee and Migrant Health

9 – 20 November 2026

COP31 Health Pavilion

International lead poisoning prevention week

18 – 24 October 2026

International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week 2026 - From detection to prevention

Speech

WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing – 2 July 2026

Commentaries

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20 November 2025

World Toilet Day: Protecting health through safe sanitation

Videos

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Beat the Heat: Staying safe at mass gatherings events

Beat the Heat: Protecting health from extreme heat

Managing heat risks at mass gatherings

health for all - film festival student prize

Our strategy

WHO global strategy on health, environment and climate change: the transformation needed to improve lives and wellbeing sustainably through healthy environments

The new strategy is timely – it responds to and is in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the GPW13.

Calls for

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Call for experts

Call for Experts: WHO Technical Advisory Group on Arboviral Diseases

Call for proposals

Call for event proposals at the COP31 Health Pavilion

Publications

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Key ingested per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their health effects: landscape review

The World Health Organization (WHO) commissioned a landscape review to systematically collect and assess available data sources on PFAS occurrence and...

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Health effects of air pollution: evidence and implications: technical brief

Air pollution is the leading environmental health risk factor causing about 6.6 million deaths globally every year. Currently reported as Sustainable Development...

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Second global conference on air pollution and health: key themes and outcomes

Air pollution remains one of the leading environmental risks to health globally, contributing to an estimated seven million premature deaths each year...

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JMP REPORT 2026 COVER

This new WHO and UNICEF report reveals significant gaps in essential water, sanitation, hygiene and environmental health services in health-care facilities worldwide....

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Infographics highlight

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Beat the heat pillar 7: Check the UV index before you go out

Check the UV index before you go out

Beat the heat pillar 5: Heat at work can be dangerous

Heat at work can be dangerous

Beat the heat pillar 3: Travelling during hot weather for an event

Travelling during hot weather for an event

Beat the heat pillar 2: 5 actions to stay safe when heat rises

5 actions to stay safe when heat rises

Tools

AIDE-MÉMOIRES: Briefs by environment, climate change and health topic for country action

Essential information to support action

Air pollution and health training toolkit for health workers (APHT)

A set of materials designed to enable health workers, in both the clinical and public health fields, to understand the health risks of air pollution and identify risk reduction measures.

Climate change and health toolkit

A comprehensive set of guidance, tools and training manuals on a wide range of topics on climate change and health

Compendium of WHO and other UN guidance on health and environment

Global repository of interventions for creating healthier environments and improving health. It provides an overview and easy access of 500 actions, and a framework for thinking about health and environment interventions.

Dashboard Migration Experiences Screenshot

Dashboard on Global Experiences in Promoting Refugee and Migrant Health

This dashboard illustrates the positive steps taken by countries all over the world towards better health outcomes for the 1 billion people on the move.

Graphic banner of the Health and Environment scorecards

Health and environment country scorecards

The Health and environment scorecards aim to provide a quick snapshot of where countries stand on managing six major environmental threats to health: air pollution, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), climate change, exposure to chemicals, radiation, and occupational health.

SunSmart Global UV App

Free application for mobile devices that describes the level of solar UV radiation at a specific location. It also provides time slots when to apply sun protection measures, in an effort to reduce the global burden of skin cancer and UV-related eye damage.

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WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease and Injury

The WHO/ILO Joint Estimates quantify the number of deaths and amount of health loss (disability-adjusted life years or DALYs) caused by occupational risk factors.

Children under solar panels

WHO Manifesto for a healthy recovery from COVID-19

WHO prescriptions for a healthy, green recovery from COVID-19 that will help steer governments towards a healthier, fairer, and greener world.

Campaigns and initiatives

thermometer on orange sky background

Flagship Initiative against extreme heat and related environmental health risks in workplaces and major events

Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH)

BreatheLife: A global campaign for clean air

International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week

WHO – WMO Joint Climate and Health Programme

Q&As

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Guidelines for drinking-water quality

Air pollution: Reducing short-lived climate pollutants

Climate change: Land degradation and desertification

One Health

Refugee and migrant health

Fact sheets

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Heat and health

Wildfires

One Health

1 September 2025

Refugee and migrant mental health

12 October 2023

Climate change

Stories and facts in pictures

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A Caribbean veterinarian on the front lines of climate and animal health

Tanzania scales up action to protect people from extreme heat and solar UV with the Beat the Heat Initiative

Donors making a difference: refugees and migrants

Core questions on household energy use

Health topics

More tools

Related content

Chemical safety

Children's environmental health

Environmental health

Health impact assessment

Occupational health

Radiation emergencies

Refugee and migrant health

Doctors attend to patients in the COVID-19 ICU of the Philippine General Hospital in Manila. They are among the first Filipinos to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the country

Occupational hazards in the health sector

Child climbing

Introduction to Children's Environmental Health

Two little girls making hearts with their hands

Training modules and instructions for health care providers

Children’s environmental health

Occupational health