Regional Meeting of the AASSA Working Group on Climate Change and Health

The German National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina, and the global network The InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) are undertaking a new project on ‘Climate Change and Health’.

Climate change is already affecting human health and health systems, and projected changes in climate are expected to increase the burden of a variety of climate-sensitive health outcomes. Research has done much to contribute to past improvements in health in many countries but, in terms of understanding the effects of climate on health, the evidence base is rather fragmented. Health effects of climate change have been relatively neglected by policymakers until recently, but that is beginning to change. This change requires increasingly robust scientific evidence to guide policy options and assess current commitments. The threats to health must drive decisive action by the scientific and health communities, as well as public policy makers, to protect the health of future as well as current generations, as a critical contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In light of these developments, the new project will produce three regional reports for Africa, Asia and the Americas (the regional report for Europe is already available). These reports will analyze the respective situation on Climate Change and Health and produce science-based recommendations for the region. Furthermore, a global synthesis based on the regional results will highlight the similarities and differences, providing advice on ‘Climate Change and Health’ for implementation at global, regional and national levels. These advices will be customized according to local circumstances and strategic needs, with particular regard to adaptation and mitigation solutions.

IAP consists of over 140 national academies of sciences (from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe) structured according to four regional networks. Experts and representatives of these four regional networks – AASSA (Asia), EASAC (Europe), IANAS (the Americas) and NASAC (Africa) – convened in Halle, Germany, from 4 to 5 November 2019 for the first project meeting.

The objectives of this project are:

• To analyze the respective situation on climate change.
• To produce science-based recommendations for the region.
• To highlight the similarities and differences and providing advice on Climate Change & Health for global, regional and national level implementation.

To address the urgency of climate change and its effects on the health of the Asian region, the first Regional Meeting of the Association of Academies and Societies in Asia (AASSA) Working Group on Climate Change and Health was held from 24 to 25 February in Kuala Lumpur. It was led by Academician Professor Dato’ Dr Khairul Anuar Abdullah FASc, President-elect of AASSA and Project Leader of the AASSA Working Group on Climate Change and Health. Professor Yoo Hang Kim (President of AASSA) was in attendance to provide a brief introduction on AASSA and to share his experience on the former InterAcademy Panel (IAP) Project.