Location: Online
This session, Colliding Disasters: adapting to increasing climate and health risks, is taking place as part as a side event of the WHO COP 26 Health Pavilion. It will bring together health and climate researchers with practitioners to discuss adaptation options for key risks at the interface of climate and health. We will discuss how risks come together in the form of complex and often compounding events, and practical next steps for countries to reduce impacts on the most vulnerable people.
Speakers include:
- Sari Kovats, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (CHAMNHA)
- Jason Glaser, La Isla Network (PREP)
- Kristin Aunan, CICERO Center for International Climate Research (EXHAUSTION, HEATCOST)
- Amir Sapkota, University of Maryland, School of Public Health (AWARD-APR)
- Anne Stauffer, Health and Environment Alliance HEAL
- Mary Friel, Policy and Advocacy Manager, British Red Cross
- Moderator: Miriam Stackpole Dahl, CICERO Center for International Climate Research
Professor Amir Sapkota will discuss how he is working address the unprecedented threat that climate change poses to public health across the globe. He is working with an international consortium to enhance community resilience against the threats of climate change through development of an early warning system for diarrheal diseases that are tied to extreme weather events. The team is focusing on better characterizing diarrheal disease risk associated with extreme weather events in specific locations and will use this information to develop diarrheal disease outlook with 4-12 weeks lead time. This will enable public health practitioners, local/regional health departments, and community groups to anticipate and respond to such threats, thereby minimizing the public health burden on already vulnerable communities.