In a new video by the Planetary Health Philippines, Filipino professionals from different sectors and levels recite the new inter-professional pledge for planetary health, which was published in the medical journal The Lancet in September 2020.
The video was published in the new website of Planetary Health Philippines and was premiered during the “Future of Planetary Health” webinar organized by the St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine-William H. Quasha Memorial on April 7..
The Planetary Health Pledge is a revised version of physicians’ Hippocratic Oath, which stipulates the duties and responsibilities of medical doctors to their patients, their profession, and society. Drafted by an international group of planetary health leaders including Dr. Renzo Guinto, convener of Planetary Health Philippines, the revised pledge urges medical professionals to also consider the environment as one of their ‘patients.’ It calls for an expanded interpretation of primum non nocere (first do no harm) by acknowledging that human health is anchored to planetary health, and to truly do no harm is to protect and preserve the Earth’s natural systems.
Human health issues are greatly influenced by the environment. On the other hand, the environment has been shaped by decades of human activity, resulting in climate change, biodiversity loss, and other forms of ecological damage. With the worsening impacts of these global environmental challenges, human health issues, such as infectious diseases like COVID-19, cardiovascular diseases, obesity and malnutrition, and mental disorders, are expected to rise as well.
The pledge also emphasizes the people’s duty to protect future generations. By accepting the interconnection between planetary health and human health, and through cooperation between various disciplines and sectors of society, the sustainability of health of the planet and of future generations can be secured.
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