Mona Sarfaty, MD

Most of the popular attention given to date to the problem of climate change has focused on animal habitats, survival of animal species and changes in the world distribution of ice and water.  This year, key public health organizations joined forces to deliver a different message that climate change affects people’s health and is, in fact, already affecting people’s health.  This shift in framework to present climate change as a public health issue was the central message delivered by APHA along with several hundred national, state and local collaborating organizations during National Public Health Week (April 7-13, 2008). 

There were thee goals for the week: 

• To provide APHA partners and their communities across the country with the facts and tools to empower them to work on this problem to help ensure a healthy future;

• To educate policy-makers about the connection between climate change and health, and to ensure that in the future, the public health community is included in all discussions about policies that impact climate change; and

• To hold a summit with public health experts and policy-makers and develop a list of key recommendations for addressing at the local, state, and national level the health impacts of climate change.

A Web site (www.NPHW.org) was established to present the materials for the week.  A Blueprint with recommendations for the public health community was posted that articulates recommendations in the areas of education, research and advocacy.  The Blueprint recommends that all APHA members should educate themselves and others about the health effects of climate change and should establish collaborative relationships with associations in their locales who are addressing the causes or effects of climate change. 

Research is needed to develop vulnerability assessments in all geographic locales that project the impact of climate change, especially on vulnerable populations.  Research also is needed regarding the impact of emerging changes in climate on health.  Advocacy recommendations include educating decision makers, supporting the development of public leadership and environmental work force capacity.  Public health functions like surveillance and monitoring need strengthening.  Best practices that benefit health and the environment must be identified.  The public health system itself should go green. 

A Toolkit was also made available through the Web site to assist groups around the country in their planning for National Public Health Week.  This included fact sheets on the regional impacts of climate change, what the public health community can do to diminish the impacts, key messages for outreach to the public, legislators and the press, and a “Healthy Climate Pledge” that could be integrated into local activities.  The pledge items were: 1) Be prepared; 2) Travel differently; 3) Eat differently; 4) Green your work; 5) Green your home.  Each item in the pledge summarized key actions an individual can take to decrease the output and accumulating burden of green house gases -- people signed the pledge.

Hundreds of activities and events were held around the country during National Public Health Week.  A white paper was also produced that will be published by APHA.  Many organizations provided input and feedback on the development of the white paper.  This paper is viewed as a strategic document to guide APHA in its future activities on climate and health.  

A press conference with the Association for Health Care Journalists was held on March 29 ,which generated substantial national news coverage.  More than 40 reporters attended.  Hearings were held on both the House and Senate sides of Congress, and several APHA members testified.  Legislative activities included drafting authorizing and appropriations proposals to strengthen public health involvement and funding with regard to climate change. 

Contact Mona Sarfaty, MD, monasarfaty@yahoo.com, if you have further questions about this topic.