Responding to flooding in Kentucky, Pakistan and now Puerto Rico, in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, Stamford-based Americares has made a commitment to expand a climate resilience project that provides new ways to protect people most at risk from the climate crisis.
The health-focused relief and development organization announced “Climate Resilience and Health Equity at the Frontlines of Healthcare” Wednesday, Sept. 21, during Climate Week, as a Commitment to Action at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2022 Meeting in Manhattan. Americares President and CEO Christine Squires joined Chelsea Clinton onstage to announce the commitment ”“ a joint effort among Americares, the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Harvard Chan C-CHANGE), and the Harvard Global Health Institute with founding support from Biogen.
“Expanding this project will protect the health of even more people in communities facing extreme weather because of climate change,” Squires said in a statement. “This effort will focus on improving care for low-income patients and marginalized communities, who often lack the resources to prepare for climate emergencies and struggle to recover.”
The commitment will bring a first-of-its-kind climate resilience toolkit developed by Americares and Harvard Chan C-CHANGE to a global audience.
The toolkit ”“ designed for free, charitable clinics and community health centers in the United States ”“ contains tailored resources to help health-care providers, patients and administrators mitigate the health effects of climate change. The first module, with resources to aid clinicians and patients in managing extreme heat, was released this summer. Additional resources for providing care amid wildfires and hurricanes will be added this fall.
“Whether it”™s extreme heat, pollution from nearby factories, or risks from wildfires and storms, patients served at frontline health clinics encounter disproportionate health burdens from climate change in every aspect of their lives,” said Aaron Bernstein, M.D., director of Harvard Chan C-Change. “Our mission is to work with clinics to help them understand and prepare for climate shocks so they can deliver high-quality care to protect their patients”™ health.”
Americares, Harvard Chan C-Change and Harvard Global Health Institute aim to adapt the toolkit for use in at least three low- and middle-income countries over the next five years. The toolkit will be modified to address unique climate risks in each country and materials will be translated into local languages. Americares is seeking both funding and implementing partners to join the commitment.
