Consortium Statement on the Newly Released “Make Our Children Healthy Again” Strategy Report

September 10, 2025

Contact:                                                           
Savannah Martincic, Manager of Communication, The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health
smartincic@ms2ch.org

Yesterday, September 9, 2025, the Make America Healthy Again Commission released the “Make Our Children Healthy Again” strategy report, a national plan purportedly designed to address the growing burden of chronic illness in the United States. However, the new MAHA report still falls short in addressing critical health threats and lacks the comprehensive, evidence-based, and equity-focused approach needed to protect all patients and communities.

Below is a statement from Lisa Patel, MD, executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health. The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health brings together medical societies to protect all people from the devastating health impacts of environmental harm and climate-related threats. The Consortium represents over 700,000 clinical practitioners nationwide.

“The release of this new Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) strategy report comes at a critical time, but unfortunately, it continues to miss key opportunities and fails to meet the urgent needs of public health. While very minimal improvements have been made, we remain deeply concerned about the ongoing omission of environmental degradation and climate-related threats as central drivers of chronic illness.

“The earlier versions of the MAHA report raised serious questions about scientific integrity due to the inclusion of unverified claims and AI-generated content that had not undergone rigorous peer review. Because of these issues, trust in the report’s findings was severely undermined, and the updated version has not sufficiently restored confidence in its evidence base.

“Beyond these scientific concerns, the new report also continues to narrowly focus on isolated chemical exposures and pharmaceutical use, while ignoring broader systemic factors such as social determinants of health and environmental injustice, both of which are major contributors to disease burden. While the updated version introduces a limited framework to assess cumulative exposures, this narrow approach fails to reflect the complex, real-world exposures faced by vulnerable communities across the U.S., and it does not meaningfully address the role of environmental racism or structural inequities. 

“Additionally, the report lacks clear strategies to address the increasing mental health impacts linked to climate-related disasters—a critical and growing public health challenge. It also fails to outline concrete plans to improve healthcare access and infrastructure resilience in the face of worsening environmental threats, which is essential to protect all communities and support health systems already under strain. 

“Of particular concern, the updated MAHA report includes deregulatory language around food and agriculture, which could encourage the increased use of non-sustainable farming practices that accelerate climate change, reduce food security, and increase diet-related diseases. These changes would disproportionately impact frontline communities and low-income families already burdened by environmental and nutritional inequities. 

“Ignoring the interconnected threats posed by environmental degradation, climate-related impacts, and systemic inequities is not just a scientific oversight; it is a public health failure. Health professionals across the country witness firsthand the consequences of these crises every day. 

Earlier today, I joined members of Congress and fellow health professionals for a press conference at the U.S. Capitol to speak out against the proposed rollback of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Endangerment Finding. The timing of the MAHA report’s release, coinciding with this public effort to defend long-standing protections against climate pollution, underscores the urgent need for federal health policy to align with both climate and medical science. 

“Federal health policy must be grounded in rigorous science and centered on equity. That means recognizing environmental degradation and climate-related threats as public health emergencies, prioritizing clean air and water, safe and affordable housing, sustainable food systems, and supporting the resilience of frontline communities who bear the greatest burden. 

“Health professionals nationwide are already on the front lines of this crisis, caring for patients and advocating for solutions. But federal leadership must step up with a strategy that is truthful, comprehensive, and just. Anything less puts lives at risk. 

“The time for half-measures and distractions is over. We need urgent, science-driven, equity-focused action to protect health in the face of environmental and climate-related threats. Our patients, our communities, and our future depend on it.” 

The views expressed here are of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health and not necessarily of its medical society members.