IAP and Save the Children collaborate to tackle the impact of climate change on human health

Climate change has the potential to disrupt the progress of humanity because it affects the provision of food, safe water and clean air on which we all depend. It also magnifies already existing socially-mediated risks, such as displacement and access to essential health services. Thus climate change is expected to exacerbate risks to health.

IAP in collaboration with Save the Children is developing a book of case studies that illustrate systems solutions for climate change and health policies, to build governments’ awareness of multi-sectoral, systems-based studies and policies. The project builds on the IAP ‘Climate Change and Health’ project, as well as the Save the Children’s new strategic initiative ‘Climate and Health: Accelerating action on climate with health benefits’.

Selected case studies focus on the linkages between climate and health in four thematic areas:

• food systems and agriculture;
• energy, including production, distribution, access, and efficiency;
• urbanization, including urban planning; and
• health systems strengthening.

The authors of the selected case studies took part in a workshop at the IAP headquarters in Trieste from 5 to 7 September 2023, where an expert committee reviewed the submissions. The case studies are now being edited and peer-reviewed for publication by the end of 2023. Some will be presented at the COP28 in Dubai, where IAP is hosting the side-event “Policy lessons from cross-sectoral global case studies tackling climate change effects on health", on 2 December 2023.

It is expected that such a resource of policy-relevant, solutions-oriented case studies will assist governments in improving their practices of addressing climate and health in a holistic way.

Read more about the call for case studies here.