At this year’s international EURIPA 13th Rural Health Forum in Lincoln, England, which takes place from the 20th to the 22nd of June, delegates will be asked to ‘Take the Pledge for Planetary health’. The objective is to increase the awareness of planetary health among rural primary healthcare practitioners (RHPC) and to appreciate that even small positive steps can advance planetary health. We want RHCPs to tap into opportunities in their own local and national primary care context. If done at scale all over Europe a significant contribution in the reduction of the carbon footprint of delivering healthcare can be achieved. Delegates will be asked to pledge they will implement one small change. They can choose between five Quality Improvement areas and will receive information on how to implement the small change step-by-step. Six months after the Forum they will be contacted to find out how their pledged change has been actioned.
This initiative fits with EURIPA’s and WONCA Europe’s vision and mission in relation to planetary health and supports World Family Doctor Day on 19th May 2024 which is focusing on ‘Healthy Planet, Healthy People’.
During the Forum there will be other activities related to planetary health. On the 21st of June the delegates will visit a coastal GP practice in Mablethorpe and plant an EURIPA tree at the Campus for Future living and on the last day they will enjoy a low environmental impact ‘planetary health’ lunch.
Notes
EURIPA Is the European Rural and Isolated Practitioners Association, a network of WONCA Europe (World Organisation of Family Doctors). EURIPA is a representative network organisation founded by rural family doctors to address the health and wellbeing needs of rural communities and the professional needs of those serving them across Europe. More information can be found at: www.euripa.org
More information on the 13th EURIPA Rural Health Forum can be found at https://forum.euripa.org