9th Knowledge Sharing Virtual Seminar on Environment and Climate Change in Urban Health

The Bangladesh Urban Health Network (BUHN) hosted its 9th Knowledge Sharing Virtual Seminar on October 12, 2025, confronting the critical intersection of environment, climate change, and urban health in Bangladesh. The session, moderated by Ummay Farihin Sultana, Project Manager at BUHN, synthesized expert perspectives on the challenges faced by rapidly urbanizing areas, particularly affecting marginalized populations. The overwhelming consensus was the need for intersectoral collaboration and systemic reform to build resilient health systems.

The seminar began with Dr. Md. Shamim Hayder Talukder, CEO of Eminence Associates for Social Development and BUHN Member Secretary, who highlighted the severe crisis facing urban Primary Healthcare (PHC). He noted that climate change and internal migration have strained the system, with urban PHC coverage reaching only a critical nine percent. Citing a significant funding crisis and the national health system's failure to serve migrants, he stressed the urgent need for the new interim government to develop a sustainable, resilient model for urban PHC delivery.

Experts then detailed the specific environmental threats. Dr. Priscilla Wobil, Health Specialist from UNICEF, presented alarming data on the environmental crisis impacting children, pointing out that over 35 million children suffer from dangerously high lead levels, resulting in a massive $8.4 billion economic cost and a loss of 20 million IQ points among children under five. Air pollution is also devastating, linked to the deaths of over 19,000 children under five in 2021. UNICEF's response is structured around mitigating pollution and heavy metals, promoting climate adaptation, and developing climate-resilient health facilities through solarization and improved WASH standards. Complementing this, Dr. Md. Shakhaoat Hossain, Associate Professor and Chairman of the Department of Public Health and Informatics from Jahangirnagar University, focused on air quality, labeling it the single largest environmental risk factor globally. His research showed that 99% of the world’s population exceeds WHO air quality guidelines. In Bangladesh, he identified elevated PM2.5 exposures, particularly near schools and during daily urban movement, and linked the use of biomass fuel for cooking to dramatically higher indoor pollution levels, increasing the risk of respiratory infections.

The vulnerability of Bangladesh’s health systems to climate impacts was central to the discussion. Dr. Sohana Shafique, Project Coordinator and Lead for Urban Health and Universal Health Coverage from icddr,b, emphasized the country’s high climate vulnerability, evidenced by rising temperatures, intense rains, and coastal stresses like salinity intrusion. These hazards exacerbate urban health crises, including increased cases of respiratory and vector-borne diseases (like dengue). She advocated for a strategy of enhancing preparedness through early warning systems, implementing evidence-based interventions for vulnerable groups, and strengthening multi-actor governance for effective adaptation. Adding to this, Dr. Mohammad Zahirul Islam, Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health from North South University, stressed that escalating environmental factors directly compromise public health, requiring systemic improvements in essential infrastructure, PHC delivery, and the establishment of reliable health insurance systems to shield vulnerable urban populations.

A crucial economic dimension was introduced by Professor Dr. M. H. Faruquee, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health from Bangladesh University of Health Sciences (BUHS), who framed the climate crisis as a fundamental occupational health priority. He noted that extreme heat severely compromises labor productivity, citing that 78% of the four million predominantly female Ready-Made Garment (RMG) workers report heat-related sickness. He called for urgent adaptations, including adjusting work hours, redesigning factories with effective cooling and solarization, and integrating urban greening, asserting that safeguarding this workforce is an economic necessity. Fatema Showkot Jahan Rojy, Senior Deputy Director, Partners in Health and Development (PHD), offered a structural solution through the PHD-Green Health Care Initiative (GHI), aimed at linking field innovation to national policy. The GHI focuses on decarbonizing energy, enhancing WASH services, and integrating climate-health training, emphasizing the need for cross-sectoral coordination and data-driven risk anticipation.

Field research and equity perspectives rounded out the session. Dr. Evana Akhtar Assistant Scientist at icddr’b, presented research confirming the link between household air pollution/heavy metal exposure and altered lung function and immune balance. She highlighted successful field interventions, including trials for clean fuel use, mobile-based behavior change, and nutritional supplementation (selenium-rich lentils) to reduce arsenic levels. Finally, Khondker Rebaka Sun-Yat, Executive Director of the Coalition for the Urban Poor (CUP) provided a critical equity lens, arguing that environmental pollution and lack of resilience disproportionately harm the urban poor. She demanded justice-based government action, including urban policy that officially recognizes and guarantees sustainable service delivery and job security for the urban poor and climate migrants.

The Chief Guest, Dr. Md. Khairul Islam, Regional Director at WaterAid South Asia Region and President of BUHN, concluded the seminar by prioritizing two immediate actions: the urgent need to research and mitigate the rising threat of lead poisoning from sources like battery-powered rickshaws, and the necessity of intersectoral collaboration to address the economic "push-pull" factors driving unsustainable urban migration. He encouraged researchers to produce actionable evidence to guide policymaking and reaffirmed BUHN’s commitment to continuing knowledge-sharing and advocacy for improved urban health governance.

In closing, Ummay Farihin Sultana, Project Manager at BUHN, thanked all speakers and participants, encouraging ongoing collaboration through BUHN’s communication platforms. The seminar ended with a collective call for unified action to integrate environmental and climate priorities within urban health strategies.

The seminar’s final recommendations established a comprehensive action plan: sustainably funding urban PHC; strengthening systemic capacity to mitigate lead exposure and develop climate-resilient facilities; enacting research on lead poisoning; implementing targeted clean fuel and PM2.5 mitigation policies; enhancing health system preparedness and multi-actor governance; implementing occupational health adaptations in the RMG sector; adopting the GHI framework; investing in infrastructure and health insurance; scaling up evidence-based pollution interventions; and committing to justice-based urban policy for the poor and migrants.

The seminar unequivocally established that the climate crisis and environmental degradation pose an immediate, existential threat to urban health in Bangladesh, demanding a paradigm shift from reactive treatment to proactive, systemic resilience. Addressing severe issues like pervasive lead and air pollution (especially impacting children) and occupational heat stress in key sectors like RMG is not just a health imperative but a critical necessity for national economic stability and future development. The path forward requires urgently expanding and sustainably funding urban Primary Healthcare (PHC), coupled with strengthening health system preparedness through multi-actor governance and the integration of field innovations like the Green Health Care Initiative (GHI). Ultimately, achieving equitable health outcomes demands justice-based government action that officially recognizes, supports, and guarantees service delivery and job security for the urban poor and climate migrants. The consensus emphasizes that only a sustained, intersectoral, and data-driven national commitment can secure a healthy and resilient future for Bangladesh's rapidly growing urban population.