Partnerships

Broad and active partnerships are required for global scale action to protect human health from climate change. WHO engages and collaborates with a range of partners (UN, academic, scientific, donors and others) to support and advocate for health protection from climate risks within the UN system and climate policy processes; to strengthen the evidence of the impacts of climate change on human health; and to build necessary capacity within the health sector to protect health from climate change at all levels.

WHO regional and country offices provide close relationships to the health sector within Member States, who are the primary actors against health impacts from climate change and variability.

WHO recognizes the following departments, institutions, and donors who collaborate toward these common goals:

WHO departments across the organization are engaged in the implementation of the workplan for climate change and health

• Interventions for Healthy Environments
  Department of Public Health and Environment
• Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
  Department of Public Health and Environment
• Health Action in Crisis
  Department of Emergency Preparedness and Capacity Building
• HIV, TB and Malaria
  Global Malaria Programme
• WHO Kobe Centre for Health Development
• Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR)

United Nations organizations

• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
  WHO and UNDP implement a joint programme for climate and health adaptation (2010-2014) and actively share learning and resources for climate adaptation.
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
  WHO-UNEP work in partnership in relation to the Libreville Declaration for Health and the Environment for Africa.
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
  WHO-WMO have had a formal partnership since 1952 to enable access and utilization for climate and weather data for health sector decision needs.
• United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
  WHO collaborates with UNITAR to share, support and improve health related capacity building to address risks and issues related to climate change. WHO serves as the health sector focal point for UNCC:LEARN.
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
  WHO experts have been involved in the assessment of the health impacts of climate change in the regions.
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
  WHO actively engages in the UNFCCC Nairobi Work Programme on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change, in order to ensure its relevance to the health sector, and to keep Member States informed about the work programme in order to facilitate their participation in it.
• Inter-Agency Standing Committee
  The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) is the primary mechanism for inter-agency coordination of humanitarian assistance. It is a unique forum involving the key UN and non-UN humanitarian partners.

WHO is working with the following organizations in establishing a specific working groups to address the social dimension of climate change. It will focus on topics including labour, development, social protection, migration, gender and health:

• United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
• International Labour Organization (ILO)
• United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF)
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

WHO Collaborating Centers for Climate Change and Health

• WHO Collaborating Center: Global Change and Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
  LSHTM collaborating center have led a major research programme assessing the ancillary benefits to health of climate policies, and support capacity building to reduce the potential health impacts of climate change in low and middle income countries. CC staff publish widely and serve as experts in global technical and policy fora on climate change and health.
• WHO Collaborating Center: The International Research Institute for Climate and Socieity, Columbia University Earth Institute Palisades, New York, USA
  IRI collaborating center advances research and modeling in climate-sensitive diseases; contribute to improving the control of epidemics in the African Region; and support actions to enhance the evaluation of the impact of public health interventions by inclusion of climate information. The IRI conducts training and provides technical support to WHO regional and country teams and partners in the use of climate information for health decision-making.

Donors and government agencies

The following donors have contributed financially to the implementation of the WHO workplan for climate change and health:

Government of the United Kingdom

Government of the United States

Government of Spain

Government of Italy

Principality of Monaco

• UN Foundation
• Global Environment Facility (with UNDP)

WHO also collaborates with the following government agencies:

• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• U.S. Center for Disease Control
• U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency
• UK Met Office
• Health Canada
• Environment Canada
• International Development Research Center

Non-governmental Organizations

The following NGOs work to bridge actors and engage civil society through advocacy, capacity building, applied research, and risk reduction interventions to mitigate the impacts of climate change on health.

• Health Care Without Harm
• Health and Environment Alliance
• Health and Climate Foundation
• Climate and Health Council
• United States National Association of County and City Health Officials
• Care International
• Global Gender and Climate Alliance / Women's Environment and Development Organization
• International Federation of Medical Students' Associations

Universities and Academic Centers

The following universities and institutions conduct research on climate change and health. Some also offer training and capacity building on the health effects of climate change:

• Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
  Climate Change and Human Health Programme
• Center for Health and the Global Environment
  Harvard Medical School, Boston MA, USA
• East West Centre
  Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
• National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
• National Center for Epidemiology and Population Health
  Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
• Centre for Sustainability and the Global Environment
  University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
• Environmental Change Institute
  Oxford University, Oxford, UK
• London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, London, UK
• International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change
• US National Academies of Science

Note: If you are an institution or agency working on climate and health and would like to collaborate with WHO, please write to us at carbonfootprint@who.int