Exemplars in Global Health (EGH) brings together experts, funders, and partners around the world with the mission of identifying positive global health outliers, analyzing what makes countries successful, and disseminating core lessons so they can be adapted in comparable settings. EGH aims to help country-level decision-makers, global partners, and funders make strategic decisions, allocate resources, and craft evidence-based policies. EGH is based at Gates Ventures, the private office of Bill Gates, in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Their most recent Exemplars newsletter highlights how climate intersects with health and perspectives from innovators working to mitigate the impact of climate on health. You can check it out here and sign up for the monthly newsletter to keep up with EGH research here.
October 2022 Newsletter - excerpts
Hi Friend, Greetings from Brussels, where – along with Exemplars in Global Health (EGH) colleagues and partners – I’ve been attending the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting (GCAM), a gathering to explore ideas for global health innovation.
Amid the sharing of science and tech proposals that address the world’s biggest challenges, EGH hosted a panel on an issue that affects every single one of us: climate, and how it intersects with health.
We discussed success stories minimizing the impacts of climate on health, and heard innovators’ perspectives on implementing best practices, while our cohosts launched two RFPs to galvanize accelerated learning and innovation. With our Earth’s weather and atmosphere continuing to change, one question persisted: what’s climate got to do with it?
In advance of our session, our team spoke to panelists Dr. Suresh Kumar Tiwari and Mr. Bishnu Bhatta from Nepal’s Partnership for Sustainable Development. I am pleased to share this excerpt from their answers, which may not surprise you – but will likely inspire you, when you read the full interview here.
What is the link between climate and health and why is there a need to focus on this? Dr. Tiwari: When we talk about climate and health, we can start with a recent surge of dengue fever in Nepal. More than 52 people died of this fever, and more than 50,000 people were infected. Dengue mosquitoes basically survive in the plainland, not land with high altitude. So, we must ask: how this mosquito is flying to the Himalayan region? We are seeing evidence that climate change and global warming are surviving factors of the mosquito. But we can also speak about agriculture, which has an enormous impact on world health. Because of climate change, the productivity of the soil has been degraded significantly. In Nepal, we’ve seen avalanches killing people, glaciers melting, and rivers flooding. Countries’ policies can affect the climate of neighboring countries. So yes, we need to discuss climate and health, in terms of protecting ourselves from future pandemics and mitigating future crises.
What is the work you are doing in Nepal to ensure a better health for your mountains – and your people? Mr. Bhatta: What we are doing in Nepal is engaging the communities. In plastics, we have a scheme that gives one rupee for one bottle. If anybody brings a PET bottle, they get one rupee in exchange. So, we are circulating the economy within the village, while we clean up the mountain. Because before our intervention, they would throw all plastics waste in the river, which pollutes water sources, or burn it, which affects air quality. More importantly, we are helping to develop a culture that promotes and sustains waste management practices in the Himalayas. This helps mitigate the effects of climate change on health.
Why is this grassroots approach effective, and what is a mistake that we make in addressing these issues globally? Dr. Tiwari: There is research that says if you invest a dollar at an early age, you'll get 17 times return. I think the mistake we have not made is that we have gone to the people. We listen. And we understand and recognize the problems being faced by the local people, in their own language. And then we try to understand the solutions they are prescribing.
What is the call to action for world leaders? How do we ensure there is buy in to this problem? Mr. Bhatta: Nature does not discriminate, so we have to join hands together so that we can achieve progress, prevent catastrophes, and avoid natural disasters. If we don't work together, we cannot overcome this problem. Like in COVID, you can’t think that because it started in one place, we didn’t need to think about it in another. And if we don’t act now, it may be too late. Talent is equally distributed around the world but not opportunity. So, we should provide opportunities for communities to innovate to fight our biggest challenges.
Blog » Introducing the "Exemplars in Global Health" (EGH) - Monthly Newsletter
Introducing the "Exemplars in Global Health" (EGH) - Monthly Newsletter
Exemplars in Global Health (EGH) brings together experts, funders, and partners around the world with the mission of identifying positive global health outliers, analyzing what makes countries successful, and disseminating core lessons so they can be adapted in comparable settings. EGH aims to help country-level decision-makers, global partners, and funders make strategic decisions, allocate resources, and craft evidence-based policies. EGH is based at Gates Ventures, the private office of Bill Gates, in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Their most recent Exemplars newsletter highlights how climate intersects with health and perspectives from innovators working to mitigate the impact of climate on health. You can check it out here and sign up for the monthly newsletter to keep up with EGH research here.
October 2022 Newsletter - excerpts
Hi Friend, Greetings from Brussels, where – along with Exemplars in Global Health (EGH) colleagues and partners – I’ve been attending the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting (GCAM), a gathering to explore ideas for global health innovation.
Amid the sharing of science and tech proposals that address the world’s biggest challenges, EGH hosted a panel on an issue that affects every single one of us: climate, and how it intersects with health.
We discussed success stories minimizing the impacts of climate on health, and heard innovators’ perspectives on implementing best practices, while our cohosts launched two RFPs to galvanize accelerated learning and innovation. With our Earth’s weather and atmosphere continuing to change, one question persisted: what’s climate got to do with it?
In advance of our session, our team spoke to panelists Dr. Suresh Kumar Tiwari and Mr. Bishnu Bhatta from Nepal’s Partnership for Sustainable Development. I am pleased to share this excerpt from their answers, which may not surprise you – but will likely inspire you, when you read the full interview here.
What is the link between climate and health and why is there a need to focus on this? Dr. Tiwari: When we talk about climate and health, we can start with a recent surge of dengue fever in Nepal. More than 52 people died of this fever, and more than 50,000 people were infected. Dengue mosquitoes basically survive in the plainland, not land with high altitude. So, we must ask: how this mosquito is flying to the Himalayan region? We are seeing evidence that climate change and global warming are surviving factors of the mosquito. But we can also speak about agriculture, which has an enormous impact on world health. Because of climate change, the productivity of the soil has been degraded significantly. In Nepal, we’ve seen avalanches killing people, glaciers melting, and rivers flooding. Countries’ policies can affect the climate of neighboring countries. So yes, we need to discuss climate and health, in terms of protecting ourselves from future pandemics and mitigating future crises.
What is the work you are doing in Nepal to ensure a better health for your mountains – and your people? Mr. Bhatta: What we are doing in Nepal is engaging the communities. In plastics, we have a scheme that gives one rupee for one bottle. If anybody brings a PET bottle, they get one rupee in exchange. So, we are circulating the economy within the village, while we clean up the mountain. Because before our intervention, they would throw all plastics waste in the river, which pollutes water sources, or burn it, which affects air quality. More importantly, we are helping to develop a culture that promotes and sustains waste management practices in the Himalayas. This helps mitigate the effects of climate change on health.
Why is this grassroots approach effective, and what is a mistake that we make in addressing these issues globally? Dr. Tiwari: There is research that says if you invest a dollar at an early age, you'll get 17 times return. I think the mistake we have not made is that we have gone to the people. We listen. And we understand and recognize the problems being faced by the local people, in their own language. And then we try to understand the solutions they are prescribing.
What is the call to action for world leaders? How do we ensure there is buy in to this problem? Mr. Bhatta: Nature does not discriminate, so we have to join hands together so that we can achieve progress, prevent catastrophes, and avoid natural disasters. If we don't work together, we cannot overcome this problem. Like in COVID, you can’t think that because it started in one place, we didn’t need to think about it in another. And if we don’t act now, it may be too late. Talent is equally distributed around the world but not opportunity. So, we should provide opportunities for communities to innovate to fight our biggest challenges.
What’s climate got to do with it?
Everything.
Best,
Niranjan Bose
Read more see attached file...