BUILDING MOMENTUM

Planetary Health Alliance 2025 Mid-Year Report

Capturing six months of remarkable growth during our 10th Anniversary year—from 500+ member organizations worldwide to our new UNDP partnership and record PHAM participation. This report is just a preview of the Alliance’s growing capacity to catalyze the systemic changes necessary for a thriving planet and flourishing communities everywhere.

Photo by Nastya Kvokka

Summary

The Planetary Health Alliance is now connected across 80+ countries with a mobilized community of 500+ member organizations, each amplifying Planetary Health principles within their own spheres of influence. The numbers in this report tell a story of a global movement gaining momentum at precisely the moment when humanity’s relationship with Earth demands transformation.

Through strategic partnerships with the United Nations Development Programme, leading academic centers, and nongovernmental organizations worldwide, PHA has positioned Planetary Health at the intersection of research, policy, practice, and hope. Our educational initiatives now reach schools around the world, while our 10th Anniversary campaign has sparked storytelling from organizations eager to share their vision for the next decade.

Through systematic educational integration, strategic policy partnerships, and community mobilization, we’re building a future in which life on Earth advances together. The organizations in our network are agents of transformation within their communities, disciplines, and regions. Their adoption of Planetary Health principles creates ripple effects extending far beyond our direct reach.

Our 10th Anniversary campaign is stimulating reflection on achievements while focusing energy on the challenges ahead. All of the dimensions of health demand awareness and action, research and implementation, individual behavior change and systems transformation. We are an alliance that is ready to continue building community, advancing excellence, influencing policy, and innovating in communications – across every sector of society – to safeguard human health on a rapidly changing planet.

Discover achievements and action in each of the tabs below.

The next decade will determine whether humanity is successful in navigating immense planetary challenges threatening our health and well-being, and that of all life on Earth. PHA’s role is to ensure that when future generations look back on this period, they will see 2025 as the year when the Planetary Health movement gained the foothold and momentum necessary to transform our relationship with Earth.

Each achievement in this report represents real people making tangible differences in their communities. Each partnership creates new pathways for Planetary Health principles to reach those who need them most. Each publication shifts academic discourse toward greater recognition of the interconnections between human health and the Earth system. In sum, our collective achievements are the changes so acutely needed.

Discover achievements and action in each of the tabs below.

Each engagement below has strengthened partnerships while advancing practical implementation of Planetary Health principles in diverse cultural and institutional contexts.

Strategic Conferences & Events

436

Abstract submissions for PHAM 2025 (2.5x previous years)

6

Planetary Health Working Groups preparing to report progress at PHAM 2025

2

Times hosting major convenings in Washington, DC

Annual Meeting

Abstract Submissions

PHAM organizers received and reviewed 436 abstract submissions – 2.5x the volume of previous years. This remarkable growth stems directly from strategic communications efforts throughout the year, which amplified research opportunities and strengthened global connections across the Planetary Health community. The substantial increase in abstract submissions reflects Planetary Health’s expanding research momentum worldwide.

Programming

We are honored to share that PHAM 2025 has received UNESCO Patronage, recognizing the conference’s alignment with UNESCO’s mission to advance education, science, culture, and communication in support of Planetary Health.
The Planetary Health Annual Meeting (PHAM) 2025 in Rotterdam offers a dynamic program spanning October 6–10, beginning with a celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Planetary Health and featuring pre-conference workshops, artistic and nature-based activities, and social events. The meeting integrates themes of sustainability, health policy, and systems change through diverse sessions on vital topics including Planetary Health Cities, global health policy, and community engagement. Networking and social experiences, including a welcome reception and conference dinner, further enrich participant collaboration and impact.
Sessions will be dedicated to each of the six working groups emerging from the Planetary Health Roadmap and Action Plan: Metrics, Communication, Education, Governance, Business, and Mainstreaming.
PHAM 2025 introduces timely sessions addressing global challenges affecting human and ecological health. A session on peace and security will explore how conflict, displacement, and militarization harm planetary well-being, emphasizing the essential role of peace in sustainable futures. Another session will examine how environmental shifts like climate change and resource scarcity drive human migration, highlighting equity and resilience. Additionally, a session on the role of AI will analyze how emerging technologies can support Planetary Health through innovation, forecasting, and policy, while also exploring ethical considerations.

Learn More

2025 Planetary Health Annual Meeting

Oct 07 – 10, 2025 • Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

2025 Planetary Health Annual Meeting

Planetary Health for All and In All: Boosting Urgency and Agency for Systems Change

In Person | Virtual

Convenings in DC

Our Planet, Our Health: 2025 Climate Action Summit

PHA co-planned this major convening with a coalition of partners—including the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, American Lung Association, American Public Health Association, ecoAmerica, Kaiser Permanente, National Academy of Medicine, Physicians for Social Responsibility— which required large-scale event coordination. The summit featured:

Opening reception at 555 Penn Avenue (PHA’s home)

Multiple sessions moderated by PHA leadership

Partnership building with health organizations and clinicians

Planetary Health Cities Symposium

Organized by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health (JHIPH) and the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School with PHA support, the symposium in June explored urban applications of Planetary Health principles, from Louisiana’s Cancer Alley and environmental justice to construction materials’ environmental and health costs. The symposium showcased practical implementation strategies for municipal leaders and urban planners. Advancement of Planetary Health Cities principles and case studies will be further highlighted at the 2025 Planetary Health Annual Meeting.

International Engagements

Oceania Planetary Health Forum (Fiji)

Hannah Turley, PHA Partnership Coordinator, moderated a session at this regional convening which emphasized preserving the region’s unique ecosystems and cultural diversity while advocating for integrated, regenerative approaches to health and governance. The forum’s call to action is being submitted to The Lancet Planetary Health, amplifying critical Pacific Island and Oceania perspectives in global Planetary Health discourse.

World Health Summit Regional Meeting (India)

Our team participated in panels and a side session hosted by Sunway University linking the Planetary Health Roadmap to educational advancement and regional engagement.

SHARE Conference

Carlos Faerron, PHA Senior Advisor of Programs, presented virtually to 200+ in-person attendees (500+ registered) at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, facilitating connections and strengthening ties with the UK Sustainable Healthcare community.