Fostering the development of planetary health research and education in Africa towards climate-resilient primary health care

Date
September 2022 to August 2027
Countries
Category
Members
Keywords
climate-resilient
primary health care
planetary health
primary healthcare providers
Institutions
Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
Research fields
Medicine and Health Sciences

Climate change is described as the most important public health challenge of the 21st century. The impact of climate change on primary health care and the adaptations needed to be climate-resilient have not received much attention in the African region. For the primary care provider, this will manifest as changes in conditions such as heat stroke, gastroenteritis, malnutrition, asthma, malaria, schistosomiasis, trauma, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Through this Team collaboration, we aim to create new evidence for African policy makers on how to develop climate-resilient primary health care and to embed principles of planetary health - an emerging discipline that studies the health effects of environmental changes that are taking places at a planetary scale - into the training of family physicians and primary care providers in the African region.