Alterações climáticas, Sustentabilidade e Saúde Global

Climate change is considered the major global health threat of the 21st century, and its impacts on health are significant and highly inequitable, affecting disproportionally more vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries and minorities in developed regions. As the drivers of climate change, e.g. (i) polluting energy systems; (ii) environmentally destructive and unhealthy food systems, (iii) poor urban planning and transport systems, are often the direct causes of the most significant health impacts, e.g. (i) premature deaths from air pollution; (ii) global increase in infectious and noncommunicable diseases; (iii) higher burdens of physical inactivity and road traffic injuries deaths, tackling climate change could present itself as a tremendous opportunity to improve global health while contributing to achieve the Sustainable Developments Goals. On the other hand, the health care sector is responsible for 5% of global carbon emissions, contributing by itself to Climate Change. Thus, there is an urgency to implement policies that contribute to a more sustainable healthcare system. To tackle these challenges, collaboration between sectors is fundamental to improve environmental sustainability and human health and wellbeing and to reduce global disparities. 

This Thematic Line by bringing together researchers from different disciplines, aims to address these challenges by focusing on 5 key areas: 

I. Environmental sustainability, pollution, and health;

II. Antimicrobial resistance, and infectious diseases; 

III. Non-communicable diseases, including mental health; 

IV. Inequities, and health promotion strategies; 

V. Sustainable health care systems. 

Considering these key areas, the specific objectives of this Thematic Line, include: 

1) Characterization of the impacts of pollutants on health (exposure assessment) and evaluation of the impacts of environmental intervention programs on exposure reduction and health promotion. 

2) Characterization of the impacts of Climate Change on the emergence of infectious diseases, including the spread of vector borne diseases and antimicrobial resistance, under the One-Health perspective. Promotion of sustainable diets, to improve the sustainability of the food systems. 

3) Characterization of the impacts of Climate Change on non-communicable diseases, with particular focus on the impacts of climate related stress on mental health. 

4) Implementation of health promotion strategies to improve health and wellbeing, decrease inequities and improve community resilience to climate related events. 

5) To foster innovation to improve the sustainability of the health care system, including new technologies for greener pharmaceuticals and decrease of carbon emissions. 

These highly multidisciplinary objectives can only be achieved under the CHRC umbrella that fosters collaboration among the different Thematic Lines and research groups.