Five-Year Project: Fostering the Development of Climate-Resilient Primary Health Care in Africa
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 take place at a planetary scale – into the training of family physicians and primary care providers in the African region.
Partners and collaborators
Bob Mash and Christian Lueme (Stellenbosch University), Ilse Ruyssen and Charlotte Scheerens (CliMigHealth), Anna Galle and Jan De Maeseneer (WHO Collaborating Centre on Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, Ghent University), VLIRUOS (Belgian Development Agency).
Contact Stellenbosch University: Bob Mash (rm@sun.ac.za).
Contact Ghent University: Ilse Ruyssen (ilse.ruyssen@ugent.be).
Publications and relevant resources
How did primary health care in Beira experience Cyclone Idai? African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine (2022).
Climate change and primary health care in Chakama, Kilifi County, Kenya. African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine (2022).
Towards a Climate-Resilient Primary Health Care Service. South African Family Practice (2023)
Climate Change and Primary Health Care in Africa: A Scoping Review. Journal of Climate Change and Health (2023)
