Climate change is increasingly affecting public health and safety, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations and aggravating existing health inequities. Recognizing the urgency of this challenge, the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH), College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila, convened the Seventh EOH Forum on November 21–22, 2024, with the theme Resilient Futures: Enhancing Health and Safety in Communities and Workplaces Amid Climate Challenges. This commentary highlights key points raised during the forum, with a focus on community-and workplace-level initiatives that address climate-related health risks. These efforts include the improvement of heat-health early warning systems, integration of climate resilience in occupational health and safety programs, and hospital-based interventions for environmental footprint reduction. The presentations also emphasized the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration, localized mitigation and adaptation strategies, and climate-informed health promotion activities. The forum highlighted that building resilient communities and workplaces requires not only policy alignment and institutional support but also interventions on the ground that are inclusive and equitable.

Human ; Climate Change ; Vulnerable Populations ; Occupational Health ; Public Health ; Philippines

Environmental and occupational health are interconnected disciplines of public health that are concerned in maintaining a symbiotic relationship between the ecosystem and humans. This relationship is under threat by the continuous and alarming increase of the Earth's temperature causing climate change that impacts not just health but also the economy and the safety of the population. The First National Environmental and Occupational Health Forum was organized by the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila to address and discuss the complex issues that the Philippines is currently experiencing when it comes to environmental and occupational health by providing a space where stakeholders from different sectors can actively participate in mapping out challenges and opportunities. The organizer's long-term vision is to catalyze and build a network of collaboration that is geared towards the improvement of health and safety in the workplace that involves mitigating the effects of climate change. The discussions in the forum gave a comprehensive insight into the different challenges we face for being one of the most vulnerable countries to natural disasters: how this affects health, workplace, and environment. These challenges created new opportunities for the country to build resilience and formulate adaptive strategies to decrease the vulnerability of the population especially the workforce who are constantly exposed to different hazards that are exacerbated by changes in the environment.

Climate Change ; One Health ; Agriculture