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Health and health facilities

Capacity of health systems to anticipate, mitigate and manage situations arising from natural and man-made hazards, including biological hazards.

Across Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon, a joint UN programme is already delivering results by strengthening migrant-inclusive health systems through a single, coordinated approach.

Latest Health & health facilities additions in the Knowledge Base

Extreme heat and health: Global evidence for action (Executive Summary) thumbnail
Documents and publications

This executive summary synthesizes global evidence on extreme heat and health, showing rising heat-related mortality, illness and productivity losses, and highlighting surveillance, HHWSs, HHAPs, adaptation and mitigation measures.

Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN)
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Prevention and management of heat-related illness at mass gatherings: Considerations for implementationDocuments and publications
Prevention and management of heat-related illness at mass gatherings: Considerations for implementation
World Health Organization (WHO)
Strengthening climate-sensitive health risk management across the Greater Mekong subregion thumbnail
Documents and publications

As health risks sensitive to changes in the climate rise in the Greater Mekong Subregion, this brief outlines the impact of compounding risks and shows how building capacity and reinforcing early warning protocols can strengthen regional resilience.

Asian Development Bank (ADB)
This image shows a group of people demonstrating. They are holding a large green banner that says" Climate change is a health emergency".
Last updated 6 Oct 2026
Climate change impacts human health and strains heavily burdened health services everywhere. Health-related risks linked to climate change range widely, from increased transmission of vector-borne diseases to decreased access to services after disasters.
A health worker checks the blood pressure of a patient at the mobile clinic in Ankatafana, Madagascar
Update

Indonesia is aligning policies and strengthening intra-government coordination to address the growing health risks of climate change.

Development Asia
A man pours water over his head to cool off on a sunny day in a leafy outdoor setting.
Update

The Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN) experts have identified ten key trends influencing heat action, driving the focus and prioritizing action for the Network and its numerous global, regional and national partners.

Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN)
Global systematic review of how climate change degrades the wellbeing and health of Indigenous children thumbnail
Documents and publications

This study shows global evidence on climate change’s impact on the health and wellbeing of indigenous children, highlighting five interconnected outcomes, calling for culturally grounded, geographically diverse, and child-centred climate-health research.

Globalization and Health (Springer Nature)
The impact of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico’s long-term care settings thumbnail
Documents and publications

This research describes experiences of individuals working in, residing in, and providing disaster response to long-term care (LTC) settings in Puerto Rico during and after Hurricane Maria.

Journal of Applied Gerontology (Sage)
The impact of Hurricane Harvey on home health care delivery for medicare beneficiaries thumbnail
Documents and publications

This paper examines the impact of Hurricane Harvey on home health (HH) care in Texas, linking 2017-2018 patient-level Medicare HH claims with county-level data on disaster declarations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Journal of Applied Gerontology (Sage)
Last updated 30 Sep 2026
Discover publications, research, guidance, case studies and practical tools that examine the causes, impacts and management of wildfire smoke.
Climate-amplified wildland–urban interface disasters create persistent internal metal mixtures associated with pulmonary impairment thumbnail
Documents and publications

This study suggests that wildland-urban interface (WUI) disasters create a distinct post-disaster exposure regime characterised by persistent internal metal mixtures associated with pulmonary impairment months after the event.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)
Conclusions - Meeting of experts on occupational safety and health in extreme weather events and changing weather patterns thumbnail
Documents and publications

Conclusions from the ILO Meeting of Experts on occupational safety and health in extreme weather events and changing weather patterns, providing guidance on prevention, preparedness, risk assessment, early warning, workplace measures and resilience.

International Labour Organization (ILO)
Breaking point: Heat and the garment floor, a HeatWatch and TISS study thumbnail
Documents and publications

Experiences of garment workers in this study show that extreme heat is not just uncomfortable but determines health, mental well-being, productivity, and livelihood. Yet workplace regulations and climate responses remain poorly equipped to address risks.

HeatWatch
Climate change in Türkiye and its impact on oncology nurses  thumbnail
Documents and publications

This review examines climate change in Türkiye, its effects on health and cancer care, and the role of oncology nurses in adaptation, disaster preparedness, environmental health awareness, and supporting patients during climate-related crises.

ecancer
Pathways of resilience: A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of healthcare systems resilience to extreme weather events thumbnail
Documents and publications

This paper analyses 18 global case studies of healthcare systems facing extreme weather events and identifies four resilience pathways, showing that resilience depends on cross-scale adaptive capacity, coordination, workforce support and recovery systems.

BMC Health Services Research (Springer Nature)
Recording and monitoring deaths during heatwaves: A scoping review of mortality attribution and surveillance systems thumbnail
Documents and publications

This scoping review of 176 studies from 41 countries found that heatwave-associated deaths are rarely coded as direct heat-related, while surveillance systems remain fragmented, highlighting the need for standardized and integrated monitoring.

International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
Last updated 25 Sep 2026
This collection contains resources demonstrating how heat stress affects employees' productivity and well-being, as well as how to protect them.
 Resilience Beyond Relief: Integrating Psychosocial Support into Disaster Management  thumbnail
Documents and publications

This NDMA guide integrates psychosocial support into disaster management in Pakistan, emphasizing that early, inclusive PSS is key for mental health, resilience, and recovery—advocating MHPSS as central to sustainable development, not a stand-alone add-on

National Disaster Management Authority (Pakistan)
Update

A new survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that the majority of Americans believe climate change is increasing the risk of respiratory diseases and heat- and insect-related illnesses.

University of Pennsylvania
Global, regional, and national impact of epidemic disasters on health workforce equality between 1990 and 2019: An ecological and modeling study thumbnail
Documents and publications

This paper estimates that epidemics were associated with an average annual loss of 17,549 health workers globally from 1990 to 2019, with the greatest burden in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and lower-income countries.

PLOS Medicine
Everyday climate adaptation inequality: Weatherization, racial segregation, and health risks in a changing climate thumbnail
Documents and publications

This article extends debates at the intersection of infrastructure, adaptation, and vulnerability by exploring everyday practices of climate adaptation through people’s attempts to weatherize their houses during climate-related emergencies.

Journal of Urban Affairs (Taylor & Francis)
Dynamic image of a wildfire engulfing a countryside field, with thick smoke and flames.
Update

Wildfires can turn natural metals in soil into toxic, airborne particles. Stanford researchers are working to predict where these metals travel and warn people in harm’s way.

Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford University
Update

More than 3,600 people are staying in 37 holding centres across Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts. No major outbreak has been reported, but cases of colds, coughs and viral fever are common.

The Kathmandu Post
Tunisia climate and health vulnerability assessment thumbnail
Documents and publications

This Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment (CHVA) sets out to understand how climate change is affecting health outcomes and Tunisia’s health system, and what opportunities exist for health system adaptation.

World Bank, the
Medical professionals in protective gear conducting outdoor testing operation.
Update

Given its speed, scale and scope, the Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease that broke out in the DRC in mid-2026 could become a global epidemic. Preventing a fast-spreading outbreak that has already taken over a large geographical region is difficult.

Conversation Media Group, the
A group of kindergarten students focus on their teacher at 2017 Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF), Republic of Korea.
Update

Children across Europe have returned to school after a summer of extreme heat. As the climate warms, one question is becoming harder to ignore: how can students learn when classrooms become dangerously hot?

Conversation Media Group, the
Cross-border travel patterns affect magnitude estimates for the Ebola Bundibugyo epidemic thumbnail
Documents and publications

This research examines how geographic spread approaches can be adapted to account for the specific travel patterns and epidemiological context of the DRC–Uganda border. A geographic spread approach is used to estimate the burden of infectious disease.

Nature Health
People walking on a hot day
Update

As heat overlaps with other intensifying climate events, scientists are uncovering how they compound each other – and how cities can adapt

Dialogue Earth
Dynamic image of a wildfire engulfing a countryside field, with thick smoke and flames.
Update

An increase in pollution from wildfires and heatwaves risks undermining international efforts to improve air quality and protect human and ecosystem health, according to a new WMO report, which traces interlinkages between air quality and climate.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
WMO air quality and climate bulletin thumbnail
Documents and publications

The sixth WMO Air Quality and Climate Bulletin examines links between air quality and climate change, highlighting aerosol impacts, wildfire smoke, ozone pollution and atmospheric monitoring needs.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Floods and droughts and pediatric malnutrition in low-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis thumbnail
Documents and publications

This study systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed the prevalence and risk of child malnutrition following extreme weather events in low- and lower-middle-income countries.

Pediatric Research (Nature)
Three smiling children in vibrant clothing enjoying a sunny day outdoors.
Update

A team found that for every standard deviation increase marine heat wave occurrences in a 24-month period child mortality increases by 5.4 percent. Malnutrition related child wasting and child stunting also increased by 6.5 and 8.8 percent respectively.

Grist Magazine
Research briefs

Heart failure hospitalizations increase after short-term exposure to cold spells, low and high temperatures, a study in JACC finds. Results from Sweden highlight the need for health systems to prepare for temperature-related health risks.

EurekAlert
Update

AI in combination with practical measures such as regulating wildlife trading — offers a powerful technology for managing zoonotic diseases and reducing the risk of spillover, possibly even preventing outbreaks in the first place

Communications Earth & Environment (Nature)
Update

ADB-supported regional cooperation is helping Southeast Asian hospitals assess climate risks, strengthen resilience and reduce emissions. Shared frameworks and investments aim to ensure reliable health services during climate-related disruptions.

Development Asia
A swarm of mosquitoes
Update

Climate change can extend mosquito activity and, speed up their development and reproduction. Scientists are controlling mosquito populations using Wolbachia carrying male mosquitoes which produce eggs that don't hatch and sterilize female mosquitoes.

Climate Central
Update

Heat-related deaths look less dramatic than other climate disasters, yet they are far more frequent. This article looks into why Europe’s deadliest climate hazard remains its least visible one.

The European Correspondent
HIV-infected H9 T Cell Scanning electron micrograph of a human H9 T cell (blue/green) infected with HIV virus particles (yellow). Image captured at NIAID Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Hamilton, Montana. Credit: NIAID https://www.flickr.com/photos/niaid/52907781528/
Update

Emerging research shows that a drier world is often a sicker one, too. A new study takes stock of nearly 100 scientific studies of diseases found throughout the animal kingdom to reveal how drought can help deadly infections and parasites spread.

Grist Magazine
Update

Led in part by SFU, COPE project aims to help older adults prepare for and respond to extreme heat. The project is part of SFU Climate Innovation , a critical research priority that supports a community-centred response to the impacts of climate change.

Simon Fraser University
Disaster resilience and recovery in Japan's 2040 care reform thumbnail
Documents and publications

This publication examines how Japan’s efforts to reorganise regional healthcare in response to an ageing and shrinking population could better integrate disaster resilience.

The Lancet
Last updated 20 Aug 2026
While much discussion revolves around the physical effects of disasters, mental health can also be harmed after a calamity. These resources explore the effects of disasters on mental health and good practices for reducing negative impacts.
Posttraumatic stress dynamics and 15-Year persistence in Great East Japan earthquake survivors thumbnail
Documents and publications

A 15-year study of Great East Japan Earthquake survivors finds that worsening posttraumatic stress symptoms during the first 2 years strongly predict persistent long-term psychological distress.

Jama Network Open
Exceeding human heat tolerance in a warming, ageing world: a global projection modelling study thumbnail
Documents and publications

This study finds that age-specific heat tolerance thresholds dramatically increase estimates of future heat exposure, with older adults facing severe risks under global warming.

The Lancet Planetary Health
Extreme Heat in India: A review of the evolving policy and practice landscape thumbnail
Documents and publications

This report reviews India's growing heat risk, the evolution of Heat Action Plans, financing mechanisms, and emerging governance approaches to strengthen climate resilience and public health protection.

Natural Resources Defense Council
Communicating Mental Health Disaster Preparedness at Canadian Universities: A Website Content Analysis Approach thumbnail
Documents and publications

This study examines how Canadian university emergency websites communicate mental health preparedness, finding that physical safety guidance is far more visible than mental health support.

International Journal of Disaster Risk Science
Research briefs

A Stanford Medicine-developed app shows that older adults’ geographic movements — also known as their life-space mobility — shrink in extreme heat that makes leaving the house difficult.

Stanford University
Cover
Documents and publications

This article intends to assess the prevalence and determinants of depression, anxiety, and stress among urban residents in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Progress in Disaster Science (Elsevier)
Update

Smoke from wildfires can travel thousands of kilometres, crossing borders, oceans and continents. Understanding where it will go next has become an increasingly important scientific challenge.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Update

Nurses are collapsing during shifts amid “inhumane and impossible” conditions caused by extreme heat, their union has warned.

Guardian, the (UK)
Research briefs

A study paints a fuller picture of how heat affects respiratory health, especially in Baltimore’s socially vulnerable neighborhoods.

Eos - AGU