Health and Climate Foundation Establishes Washington DC Base to Combat Climate-sensitive Diseases around the World
11/3/2008, Washington DC, USA – The newly formed Health and Climate Foundation (HCF) has established its headquarters in Washington DC.
The mission of the non-profit foundation is to help eradicate epidemics of climate-sensitive diseases around the world, but especially in developing nations.
HCF President, Dr David Rogers: “At least 30 climate-sensitive diseases, including malaria, cholera, rift valley fever and meningitis pose a major threat to tens of millions of people all over the world.
“Despite attempts to prevent epidemics, public health services everywhere are often overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the problem.
“We see a massive need for better cooperation between public health practitioners and climate scientists to combat these epidemics.
“The disease burden is high because we often don’t fully understand and cannot exploit the complex relationships between health, climate and other social factors to prevent epidemics.”
By working closely with the health and climate communities, the Foundation will identify pressing needs and assemble health, climate and social science experts to concentrate on practical solutions.
Many useful aid or research projects on climate-sensitive diseases, especially in Africa, have been carried out in the past, but these are often of limited duration and don’t leave behind much in the way of increased capacity.
HCF donors will help finance projects that can lead to long-term sustainable improvements in public health care by building local capacities to reduce the burden of climate-sensitive diseases.
“HCF is designed to act as a rapid, nimble interface between different sectors, some of which have had little or no interaction, but together have great potential to provide innovative solutions to these diseases,” says Dr Rogers.
Many areas in the developing world are already suffering, but as climate change tightens its grip, weather patterns will shift and new regions will become vulnerable according to last year’s Fourth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Increased water stress, drought-reduced crop yields and natural disasters such as flash floods will increase negative impacts.
“Our clear purpose is to obtain measurable results – significant reductions of lives and livelihoods lost to these diseases,” says Dr Rogers.
HCF is already playing a major role in international efforts to improve how outbreaks of deadly strains of meningitis in Africa are predicted and managed.*
However, other climate-sensitive diseases – which kill thousands and destroy the livelihoods of many other victims every year – desperately require increased scientific focus and better understanding of how to combat them at grass-roots levels.
*http://merit.hc-foundation.org
Press Office:
E-mail: pressoffice@hc-foundation.org
Tel: +41 22 368 2103
Website: www.hc-foundation.org
Health and Climate Foundation Awards First Scholarship
May 26, 2008, Niamey, Niger - Thanks to the generous support of the Kentucky Derby Poker Championship, the Health and Climate Foundation, in collaboration with the Red Cross / Red Crescent Climate Centre, are pleased to announce the award of the first HCF scholarship to Seydou Tinni Halidou from Niamey, Niger.
Seydou will represent the African Centre for Meteorological Applications in Development (ACMAD) at the 2008 International Research Institute for Climate and Society's Summer Institute on 'Climate Information for Public Health'
The 2008 Summer Institute is a two-week training course offering public health decision-makers and their partners the opportunity to learn practical methods for integrating climate knowledge and information into health decision-making processes through expert lectures, special seminars, focused discussions and practical exercises.
Leading international fund-raiser Annette Richardson joins HCF
29/10/2008, Geneva/Washington DC – Ms Annette Richardson, one of the world’s leading international fund-raisers will be lending her expertise to the Geneva and Washington-based start-up non-profit organization, the Health and Climate Foundation (HCF). A consultant to global corporate clients, NGOs and non-profit organizations, Ms Richardson focuses on philanthropic strategy and implementation.
“I believe that the issue of health related to climate change is crucial to the fate of our world and the next generation. We have reached a major crossroad in the battle to contain pandemics but we also must address new challenges which our global health system faces as it maps out the next 25 to 50 years. I am very excited at the opportunity to help HCF frame the agenda on health and climate change,” she said.
Dr David Rogers, HCF President, said: “Annette brings enormous experience to the HCF Board and her participation demonstrates our considerable potential. She will be assessing our operations over the coming weeks ahead of a major fund-raising drive to be launched in the spring.”
International humanitarian campaigns, launched by Ms Richardson include the United Nations Millennium Campaign’s Stand UP Against Poverty (2006), the World Health Organization’s “Deliver Now for Women and Children” (2007) and the “Women for Peace” Initiative under the Patronage of Ms Ban Soon-taek, wife of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (2008).
Among her past and present clients: the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation, NETAID, UNICEF, the United Nations Delegations Women’s Club (UNDWC), Generations and History, DRUM, the New Globe Theater, the African Union Mission to the UN (2007 Africa Day) and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.
HCF’s mission is to help eradicate epidemics of climate-sensitive diseases around the world (especially in developing nations) by increasing dialogue and understanding between health and climate specialists and practitioners on the ground.
For more information: Contact the Press Office: Email: pressoffice@hc-foundation.org; Tel: +41 22 368 2103; Website: www.hc-foundation.org
Ethiopian focus on meningococcal meningitis
05/1/2009, Addis Ababa/Washington DC – Ethiopian health and climate experts agree to an intenseive research prohject to understand the social and economic impacts of meningococcal meningitis in the country and to develop more effective tools to provide earlier warnings and more effective response to this deadly disease.
Part of the international Meningitis Environmental Risk Information Technologies (MERIT) project (merit.hc-foundation.org), MERIT Ethiopia is managed by the Climate and Health Working Group (CHWG), a joint effort of the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Meteorological Agency. MERIT aims to use existing knowledge of the epidemiology of meningococcal meningitis more effectively for more timely warnings and better control of disease outbreaks.
Meningococcal meningitis is one of the most feared diseases and of major public health importance in Africa where up to 300 million people are at risk. The disease is associated with the dry, dusty conditions that prevail during the winter months throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Early warning of meningitis epidemics would help to target the limited supplies of vaccines where they are most needed and in sufficient time to mitigate the outbreak.
For more information: Contact the Press Office Email: pressoffice@hc-foundation.org; Tel: +41 22 368 2103; Website: www.hc-foundation.org