Grant: Applied Public Health Chair

Climate change has been described as the greatest threat to public health this century, with Indigenous populations identified as 'highly vulnerable'. The global response to the risks posed has been to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is imperative yet the science shows that we will not be able to avoid climate change, with the World Health Organization estimating that the direct health impacts alone will cost $2-4bn/yr by 2030 globally. For this reason, finding ways to adapt our health systems and behavior to reduce the risks of climate change is imperative, and is reflected in the increasing urgency with which governments at various levels in Canada and internationally are beginning to prioritize adaptation. Yet what can we do to adapt? How can we reduce the risks posed by climate change? What evidence is there on what will work? Unfortunately we have few answers to these questions, particularly for Indigenous populations including Canada's Inuit who are living in a region experiencing the most dramatic climate change anywhere. Indeed, the health community has long neglected climate change as a risk and is only beginning to recognize the magnitude of the problem. Canadian research is at the vanguard of such developments, and Dr Ford's team have spent over a decade working with Indigenous communities examining the risks posed by climate change to health and identifying risk factors. The program of research proposed here will take this to the next step, evaluating specific interventions for reducing the health impacts of climate change for 3 Indigenous populations: Inuit of Canada, Shipibo in the Amazon, and Batwa of Central Africa. The project builds upon ongoing research projects held by Dr Ford from the IDRC & tri-councils, has strong buy-in at multiple levels of health governance, and will work with decision maker partners to systematically and rigorous evaluate and prioritize potential health adaptations.