The intersection of climate change and health has received increased public attention in recent years. However, the impact of climate change on infectious diseases is not always part of the discussion.
The changing climate is expanding the range of disease-carrying animals, such as mosquitoes and bats, partly due to climate-prompted migration. This increases the number of animal-to-human spill-over opportunities and viral-sharing between animals, heightening the risk of a new human virus, or Disease X, emerging.
Human health, planetary health, animal health and plant health are interdependent. We cannot advance pandemic resilience without considering how others are approaching the shared ecosystem.
As countries around the world learn from their experience in COVID-19 to build their resilience against an unknown future pandemic, it is imperative to incorporate climate change and One Health in the consideration and engineer systemic changes.
This panel discussion seeks to examine the relationship between pandemics, climate change and One Health, identify existing gaps and potential areas of intervention, and foster collaboration among diverse stakeholders.
Hosts:
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)
Chairs:
Prof. Jane Halton
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) | Chair of the Board | Norway
Speakers:
Prof. Dr. Victor J. Dzau
National Academy of Medicine (NAM) | President | United States of America
Dr. Githinji Gitahi
Amref Health Africa | Group CEO | Kenya
Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan
One Health Trust | Founder and President | United States of America
Dr. Jeni Miller
Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) | Executive Director | United States of America
WHO-Civil Society Working Group on Climate and Health | Co-Chair
Dr. María Neira
World Health Organization (WHO) | Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health | Director