Washington, DC
United States of America

Climate and Health Series | Moving the needle: A discussion on research and strategic programming at the nexus of climate and health

Organizer(s) United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Chemonics
Venue
Chemonics International, 1717 H St NW, 20006, Auditorium B
Date

Climate variability and change present both immediate and future risks to human health. Changes in the frequency, location, and severity of climate impacts are placing more people at risk from health-related hazards such as diminished air quality, extreme heat and violent weather events, and vector borne diseases. How are climate and health practitioners meeting this challenge? What tools are in use for countries to effectively and systematically monitor climate impacts on the health sector? Where are the research gaps and how do we address them? We want to hear from you!

Join us for the June Adaptation Community Meeting as we explore these important questions and seek actionable solutions for strategic programming and future research on the complex interactions between human health and a changing climate. The event will feature Lightening Talks by a panel of experts from USAID, the research community, and implementing partners working at the nexus of climate and health, followed by a facilitated discussion where participants will be encouraged to share their perspective on this critical development challenge and discuss further opportunities.

Bring your experience, your questions, and your ideas and join the discussion!

About the speakers:

Colin Quinn (Moderator) is a Climate Change Advisor for the USAID Africa Bureau, where he focuses on integrating climate information into public health decision making, urban and coastal resilience, and climate risk management in Africa. He previously worked for the USAID Mozambique Mission supporting the start-up of the $20 million Coastal City Adaptation Project, as well as working to establish a Climate and Health Observatory in the Mozambique Ministry of Health to improve integration of climate and weather information in health decision making. Prior to joining USAID, Dr. Quinn was an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at NOAA, and the Climate Science Advisor to the NOAA Administrator. Dr. Quinn received his PhD in plant ecology from Colorado State University, and BS from the University of Canterbury in Biology.

Dr. Tegan Blaine is the Senior Climate Change Advisor and Climate Change Team Leader in USAID’s Bureau for Africa where she provides strategic thinking and technical analysis on climate change climate change programs and climate risk management for the Africa region. Prior to USAID, she worked on climate change and international development at McKinsey & Company, as a policy advisor on water at the U.S. Department of State. Dr. Blaine has a Ph.D. in oceanography and climate from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and an A.B./Sc.B. in comparative literature and mathematical ecology from Brown University. She taught secondary math and physics as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania.

Fernanda Zermoglio is the Adaptation and Vulnerability Specialist with USAID’s Adaptation Thought Leadership and Assessments (ATLAS) Project. Ms. Zermoglio has been on the forefront of climate change adaptation science, assessment methodology, programming and policy for the past 15+ years. A geographer with a detailed knowledge of climate modeling and various adaptation methodologies, she has synthesized applied research, pragmatic tools and knowledge-sharing platforms to inform the design, implementation and integration of climate adaptation assessments across several countries, in support of various donors and local governments. Since 2014 she has been the Climate Vulnerability and Adaptation Specialist on the DC-based ATLAS project.

Dr. S. Rene Salgado is a Senior Malaria Technical Adviser for Monitoring and Evaluation with the USAID’s President’s Malaria Initiative. Dr. Salgado is a medical doctor with almost four decades of experience in international health. He has been with USAID’s President’s Malaria Initiative since its inception in 2005; first as the Resident Adviser in Tanzania and from 2008 as a Senior Technical Adviser for Monitor and Evaluation in Washington D.C. Before working with PMI in Tanzania, Dr. Salgado worked on projects addressing integrated management of childhood illnesses and served as an advisor on immunization and diarrheal diseases in Mexico and Guatemala among others. Dr. Salgado has extensive experience in child survival and malaria and has published accordingly. Dr. Salgado pioneered the inclusion of climate analyses in impact evaluations of malaria interventions in PMI focus countries.

Dr. Kristie L. Ebi (Invited) is a professor at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the University of Washington. Dr. Ebi has been conducting research and practice on the health risks of climate variability and change for more than twenty years, including on extreme events, thermal stress, foodborne safety and security, and vector borne diseases. She focuses on understanding sources of vulnerability, estimating current and future health risks of climate change, and designing adaptation policies and measures to reduce the risks of climate change in multi-stressor environments. She has supported multiple countries in Central America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific in assessing their vulnerability and implementing adaptation measures. She was a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on warming of 1.5°C, and of the 4th US National Climate Assessment.

Juli Trtanj (Invited) is the One Health and Integrated Climate and Weather Extremes Research Lead for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Ms. Trtanj is responsible for developing and implementing the Health Strategy across NOAA and with other federal, state, local and international Agencies, academic and private sector partners. Ms. Trtanj co-chairs the US Global Change Research Program, Climate Change and Human Health Group (CCHHG) and represents NOAA on the Pandemic Prediction and Forecasting Science and Technology Working Group. Ms. Trtanj also coordinates the NOAA One Health Working Group which brings together NOAA data, research, information and actions to inform health decision making, and started the first multidisciplinary and multi-partner research program on Climate Variability and Human Health. Ms. Trtanj has contributed to, reviewed, or edited sections of several IPCC and US National Climate Assessment reports and authored several book chapters and journal articles. Ms. Trtanj earned her Master in Environmental Science from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and her Bachelors from the University of California Santa Barbara.

A live webinar of the event will also be available.

This event is part of the monthly USAID Adaptation Community Meetings. For more information and to stay up-to-date on similar events, sign up to receive event updates.

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