Promoting local research competence, evidence and response strategies to health risks from climate change in Vietnam and Indonesia

Project description

Climate change is a potent risk to health and wellbeing globally. Countries like Indonesia and Vietnam are going to be severely challenged by floods, droughts, cyclones, coastal floods, heat waves, water shortage and reduced food production with potentially severe short and long-term health risks. In an international perspective, evidence exists that describe how poor health and fatalities relate to climate directly and indirectly. However, on a local level
in low- and middle- income countries like Indonesia and Vietnam the evidence of climate change health impacts on communities is limited or totally lacking. Consequently, the current understanding of potential health consequences due to climate change is low among decision makers and health professionals and there is a prominent lack of experts who can support and guide adaptation initiatives and translation of research into policies in these countries. Health professionals have a great opportunity to find green solutions of health care and to promote healthy “green” lifestyles. The latter could become a very important strategy to improve public health in Vietnam and Indonesia since the epidemiological transition towards increased prevalence and incidence of chronic diseases is very rapid in these countries.

To increase the local evidence of climate change health impacts in Vietnam and Indonesia and to facilitate the work of developing strategies and policies for sustainable adaptation, research initiatives are needed that:

• Describe exposure-response relationships between climate and weather, and ill-health and mortalities
• Make projections of health under climate change scenarios and epidemiological transitions
• Describe knowledge and practise among the population and critical stakeholders with respect to addressing and coping with climatic stressors
• Outline efficient ways to adapt based on local data and knowledge, in dialogue with international, national and local experts and stakeholders
• Critically assesses mitigation and adaptation opportunities in the health sector that do not compromise with the quality of and access to care
• Promote health co-benefits of a “green” lifestyle
The proposed project focuses on generating local evidence of climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation and response strategies in Vietnam and Indonesia and to build local capacity through a collaborative north-south initiative.

The main aims of the project are to:

• establish a sustained triangular collaboration between Sweden, Indonesia, and Vietnam addressing research and education in the field of climate change and health
• support and mentor collaborative research and encourage scientific publication in the area of climate change and health based on local health and climate data from Indonesia and Vietnam
• stimulate research on sustainable development, particularly with respect to health sector mitigation and adaptation
• promote and support the international partners to take on leading roles as national and local experts on climate change and health
• stimulate the engagement of research in the generation of evidence based policy processes in the area of climate change and health