News
September 2022 – Positive evaluation of phase 1 by DFG and grant extension to phase 2
In a two-day meeting, all Principal Investigators (PIs) met with expert reviewers, nominated by DFG, and a DFG delegation in Heidelberg. On the first day, the RU members presented the achievements during phase 1 and the proposed research programme for phase 2. We placed particular focus on the development of early-career scientists, promotion of advanced researchers, implementation of gender equality measures, and methodological trainings with strong north-south and south-south components. For phase 2, we will expand on the work regarding climate change impacts on undernutrition, cardio-vascular heat stress, and malaria. We will emphasize on co-designing, implementing, and evaluating strategies for climate change adaptation, and how these can be modelled for future climate scenarios.
May 2022 - HIGH delegation visits KEMRI in Kisumu, Kenya
From 30th April until 9th May 2022, a HIGH delegation visited the RU partners from Kenya on the campus of Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Kisumu. During this meeting, the RU members from HIGH and KEMRI presented the concept and achievements of the RU to scientists at KEMRI; discussed the next steps of advancing the Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) towards climate change and health research; and inspected weather stations and field work activities.
March 2022 - MOOC launch on Research Methods for the Study of Climate Change and Health
The changing climate is resulting in increased health impacts and complications. To best study these impacts it is necessary to use an interdisciplinary approach combining methods from epidemiology, health, and climate disciplines. The aim of this course is therefore to introduce different methods of data collection, data analysis, and data modelling that lend themselves to studying the nexus between climate change and health. Importantly, the methods introduced in this course are state-of-the-art and are being used in multiple settings in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.
The course is taught by a multidisciplinary team comprising experts in the field through a combination of online lectures which provide real-life studies. In many cases, you will be able to practice analysing data using an example data set. This course is aimed at anyone who wants to learn or is interested in conducting research on the impacts of climate change and human health.
Join the course at https://high-edu.courses/courses/course-v1:HIGH+CCH-RM+2021/about
November 2021 - First in-person in Heidelberg after kick-off and outbreak of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic
Members of the DFG Research Unit “Climate Change and Health in sub-Saharan Africa” meeting in Heidelberg in November 2021
From 24th November until 26th November 2021, delegations of CRSN and KEMRI met the European RU partners from Germany and Switzerland on the campus of Heidelberg University. During this meeting, the consortium members exchanged about the current status of the RU, intensified collaborations, and discussed the second phase proposals.
October 2021 - Patricia Nayna Schwerdtle wins the DFG RU Start-up grant
Patricia Nayna Schwerdtle (Trish) is a domain expert on the nexus of climate change, health, and migration. She has concentrated her research on climate-related migration and health for the past five years and is published in academic journals including BMC Medicine, Environmental Research Letters, Nature Climate Change, and The Lancet. Trish has a clinical background and worked for many years in migrant health in a variety of settings, including humanitarian settings. Trish has been affiliated with MSF (Doctors without Borders) since 2007 and is the previous Vice President of MSF Australia. She specializes in synthesis research and qualitative and mixed methods research. Trish is on the steering committee of the ‘CliMigHealth’ International Network where she collaborates and publishes with other experts on climate change, migration, and health. Her DFG independent grant application seeks to integrate migration and conflict (as it relates to climate change) into existing DFG RU projects. She will work closely with Project 8 on agent-based modeling to better understand the drivers, mobility patterns, and health outcomes in Nouna, Burkina Faso. She will also lay the groundwork for a possible Anticipatory Action intervention using forecasts to link early warning to early action, seeking to reduce the risk of forced displacement and increase the likelihood of adaptive mobility responses to climate change, with a particular focus on health.