HEALTHY FUTURES – Researchers collaborate to explore links between Environmental Change and Vector-Borne Diseases in eastern Africa
1 December 2012
Austria
The Symposium will bring together researchers at the cutting edge of research in understanding the relationships between health and environment and, in particular, links between climate and VBDs in Africa.
Motivated by the knowledge that each year an estimated 2.4 million environmental health-related deaths in Africa are avoidable, and that the effects of environmental change, such as climate change, will be felt most acutely by the poorest members of society, both projects strive to further understand the relationship between climate and health in Africa. By focusing primarily on the drivers for VBDs, the projects aim to assist in making projections of future outbreaks and to how such events should be managed. Both projects are funded through the Environment and Health component of the EC Seventh Framework Programme and involve several eastern Africa-based partners.
HEALTHY FUTURES project coordinator Prof. David Taylor stated, in the announcement of the call for abstracts for the Symposium, that ’Climate is a component of environment. Relationships between climate and health in Africa, and indeed in many parts of the world, remain poorly studied and are often overlooked. This is despite the fact that readily accessible, high quality climate data can be extremely useful to health planners, as they can help understand current distributions of some diseases – notably those involving a biological vector - and are fundamental to the accurate forecasting of future outbreaks. Moreover, an understanding of links between climate, societal changes and health can help in the prediction, and costing, of the health impacts of climate change’.
Additionally, HEALTHY FUTURES in collaboration with the CGIAR program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), held a stakeholder workshop on 6th November 2012 at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) campus in Nairobi, Kenya. The purpose of the workshop was to engage with regional experts from a range of disciplines with the specific aim of looking at potential futures of VDBs in East Africa. This approach was guided by HEALTHY FUTURES' ethos of a bottom-up, end-user/stakeholder-focused approach. The participants discussed future scenarios of socio-economic development in the region and its implications for the spread and control of malaria, schistosomiasis and Rift Valley fever. The outcomes of the workshop included the development of an inventory of interventions to tackle the target diseases and decisions on the next steps forward to ensure qualitative and quantitative information will finally feed into vulnerability assessments and decision support systems.
HEALTHY FUTURES is currently developing a project database of existing and new relevant data relating to the emergence and outbreaks of its three target VBDs in the study area and drawn from a range of primary and secondary sources. It is due for completion in late 2013 and will be publicly accessible via the HEALTHY FUTURES website. For more information please visit: http://www.healthyfutures.eu/(opens in new window).
________________________________________
Note to Editors
Detailed partner profiles are available on request.
Trinity College Dublin is the coordinator of this project, with AquaTT as the project administrator partner. Prof. David Taylor, formerly of Trinity College Dublin and now based at the National University of Singapore, is the Scientific Coordinator of this project. The HEALTHY FUTURES project has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 266327.
Trinity College Dublin (TCD), founded in 1592, is the oldest University in Ireland. TCD now has more than 15,700 students, 3,700 staff and 86,000 alumni, while in 2007-2008 its staff secured more than €70m in research income. TCD is widely recognised for the high quality of its graduates, the international standing of its research and scholarship, and the value it places on contributing to Irish society and the wider world. In the most recent (2009) THES survey of universities internationally, TCD was ranked in the top 50 (43rd) and in the top 15 (13th) universities in the world and in Europe, respectively.
National University of Singapore (NUS) is a leading global university centred in Asia. NUS is currently (2012) ranked in the top 25 universities globally according to the QS ranking of top universities in the world. NUS comprises 16 faculties and schools across three campus locations in Singapore – Kent Ridge, Bukit Timah and Outram. The university provides a broad-based curriculum underscored by multi-disciplinary courses and cross-faculty enrichment. Over 37,000 students from 100 countries further enrich the community with their diverse social and cultural perspectives.
Contact: Prof. David Taylor (Project Coordinator), Department of Geography, NUS (email: david.taylor@nus.edu.sg)
AquaTT is an international foundation which provides project management and training services to support the sustainable development of Europe's aquatic resources. AquaTT's mission is to bridge the knowledge gap between the dynamic R&D environments and the progressive commercial sector. AquaTT supports its target audiences through the provision of support services and through participation in, and coordination of EU projects and initiatives in the area of knowledge management including customised dissemination, education, training and technology transfer.
Contact: Paul Lowen (Project Officer), AquaTT (email: paul@aquatt.ie)
Motivated by the knowledge that each year an estimated 2.4 million environmental health-related deaths in Africa are avoidable, and that the effects of environmental change, such as climate change, will be felt most acutely by the poorest members of society, both projects strive to further understand the relationship between climate and health in Africa. By focusing primarily on the drivers for VBDs, the projects aim to assist in making projections of future outbreaks and to how such events should be managed. Both projects are funded through the Environment and Health component of the EC Seventh Framework Programme and involve several eastern Africa-based partners.
HEALTHY FUTURES project coordinator Prof. David Taylor stated, in the announcement of the call for abstracts for the Symposium, that ’Climate is a component of environment. Relationships between climate and health in Africa, and indeed in many parts of the world, remain poorly studied and are often overlooked. This is despite the fact that readily accessible, high quality climate data can be extremely useful to health planners, as they can help understand current distributions of some diseases – notably those involving a biological vector - and are fundamental to the accurate forecasting of future outbreaks. Moreover, an understanding of links between climate, societal changes and health can help in the prediction, and costing, of the health impacts of climate change’.
Additionally, HEALTHY FUTURES in collaboration with the CGIAR program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), held a stakeholder workshop on 6th November 2012 at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) campus in Nairobi, Kenya. The purpose of the workshop was to engage with regional experts from a range of disciplines with the specific aim of looking at potential futures of VDBs in East Africa. This approach was guided by HEALTHY FUTURES' ethos of a bottom-up, end-user/stakeholder-focused approach. The participants discussed future scenarios of socio-economic development in the region and its implications for the spread and control of malaria, schistosomiasis and Rift Valley fever. The outcomes of the workshop included the development of an inventory of interventions to tackle the target diseases and decisions on the next steps forward to ensure qualitative and quantitative information will finally feed into vulnerability assessments and decision support systems.
HEALTHY FUTURES is currently developing a project database of existing and new relevant data relating to the emergence and outbreaks of its three target VBDs in the study area and drawn from a range of primary and secondary sources. It is due for completion in late 2013 and will be publicly accessible via the HEALTHY FUTURES website. For more information please visit: http://www.healthyfutures.eu/(opens in new window).
________________________________________
Note to Editors
Detailed partner profiles are available on request.
Trinity College Dublin is the coordinator of this project, with AquaTT as the project administrator partner. Prof. David Taylor, formerly of Trinity College Dublin and now based at the National University of Singapore, is the Scientific Coordinator of this project. The HEALTHY FUTURES project has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 266327.
Trinity College Dublin (TCD), founded in 1592, is the oldest University in Ireland. TCD now has more than 15,700 students, 3,700 staff and 86,000 alumni, while in 2007-2008 its staff secured more than €70m in research income. TCD is widely recognised for the high quality of its graduates, the international standing of its research and scholarship, and the value it places on contributing to Irish society and the wider world. In the most recent (2009) THES survey of universities internationally, TCD was ranked in the top 50 (43rd) and in the top 15 (13th) universities in the world and in Europe, respectively.
National University of Singapore (NUS) is a leading global university centred in Asia. NUS is currently (2012) ranked in the top 25 universities globally according to the QS ranking of top universities in the world. NUS comprises 16 faculties and schools across three campus locations in Singapore – Kent Ridge, Bukit Timah and Outram. The university provides a broad-based curriculum underscored by multi-disciplinary courses and cross-faculty enrichment. Over 37,000 students from 100 countries further enrich the community with their diverse social and cultural perspectives.
Contact: Prof. David Taylor (Project Coordinator), Department of Geography, NUS (email: david.taylor@nus.edu.sg)
AquaTT is an international foundation which provides project management and training services to support the sustainable development of Europe's aquatic resources. AquaTT's mission is to bridge the knowledge gap between the dynamic R&D environments and the progressive commercial sector. AquaTT supports its target audiences through the provision of support services and through participation in, and coordination of EU projects and initiatives in the area of knowledge management including customised dissemination, education, training and technology transfer.
Contact: Paul Lowen (Project Officer), AquaTT (email: paul@aquatt.ie)