The Joint Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) with the support of the Welcome Trust launched the first global knowledge platform dedicated to climate and health.
The platform can be found under the web address climahealth.info. It is established as there is a growing demand for actionable information to protect people from the health risks of climate change and other environmental hazards.
This global open-access platform designed by WHO and WMO is planned to become the reference point for users of interdisciplinary health, environmental, and climate science. The site represents the public face of the WHO-WMO Joint Technical Programme, and it will bring together the expertise and science of both organizations.
WMO And WHO Launch A New Knowledge Platform For Climate And Health
There is a close connection between climate and health. Climate change, extreme weather events, and the resulting environmental degradation have large-scale consequences on human health and well-being.
Climate change impacts the health and well-being of people in different ways. It increases the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, floods, and bushfires. Climate change can worsen air quality, threaten food security and even affect mental health. More people than ever before are experiencing climate change-related health effects.
There needs to have strong collaboration and partnership between producers and users of climate information. ClimaHealth will help in connecting health and climate communities and will support the acceleration of multidisciplinary research, national capacity, and the use of evidence and decision tools by a wide range of audiences. The audiences include policymakers and community groups. This will inform and advocate for action and investment.
With the ClimaHealth site, users can connect with global experts. It is also possible to explore the country, hazard, and theme-focused entry points and a growing number of climate service provider profiles and resources. This dynamic platform will be enriched with new content and dynamic features in the coming months and years. This will meet the needs of users from climate, environment, and health.
Media release of ClimaHealth says that the use of tailored climate and environmental science and tools for public health such as disease forecasting and heat health early warning systems have enormous life-saving potential. With these tools, we can enhance our understanding of the connections between climate and health. This helps us to reach at-risk populations and anticipate and reduce impacts.
Diarmid Campbell Lendrum, coordinator of WHO’s climate change and health program said that climate change is killing people at the moment. Climate change is affecting the basics of our survival like clean air, safe water, food, and shelter.
Another peculiar feature of climate change is that it disproportionately affects the most vulnerable of societies. Similarly, it is the Third World countries that mostly bear the brunt of climate change. The progress we made in global health can go to waste if climate change is not controlled. He added that reducing its impacts requires evidence-based policy backed by the best available science and tools.
WHO-WMO Climate and Health Joint Office head Joy Shumake Guillemot said that public health practitioners who are concerned about the environmental impacts on health lack access to training and tailored climate information needed to address these growing issues.
He accused climate experts were sitting on hordes of research and resources that could have been applied to support public health goals and prevent them from reaching the right people. Madeleine Thomson, Head of Climate Impacts and Adaptations for Wellcome Trust, said that collaboration between climate, health, and technical specialists is crucial for helping to understand and solve the health effects of climate change.