“I’m most interested in working in the community and with the youth.We work in these varied sectors, but it often does not translate to the farmer who has reduced crops, housewife who collects water and more people who are coming down with dengue and other vector borne diseases.We need to do a better job of communicating this to people at the community level. We need to have the community involved and changing their behavior to be fully part of the solution”.  – First cohort fellow

Background

Health systems in the Caribbean remain highly vulnerable to impacts from climate change both on the quality and the capacity of services, as well as on the socio-economic and environmental determinants of health.

These impacts have been well documented: extreme weather conditions; heat waves; more frequent strong and devastating hurricanes; recurring and extended periods of drought followed by excessive rainfall; increased levels of air pollution and sea level rise. These conditions negatively affect lifestyles, food security, water security, and have direct negative impacts on people’s health and wellbeing in the form of heat strokes, respiratory illnesses (chronic and acute), cardiovascular diseases, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and many vector-borne and infectious diseases. National socio-economic development is also negatively affected, like workers’ health (lost work capacity and reduced labour productivity in vulnerable populations and migration), as well as the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Climate and Health Solutions

The Climate Change and Health Leaders fellowship training program will focus on creating a cohort of inter-sectorial, multidisciplinary leaders with the necessary skills to turn plans and policy into action.

The goal of the program will be to develop strong, effective Climate Change leadership among government officials, civil society, communities, and private sector, championing and implementing the One Health Approach.

Fellows will be furnished with the knowledge and skills to enable them to support national Caribbean governments in the inclusion of health elements in the national adaptation plans (NAPs) for Climate Change and will be able to lead in the development and implementation of these plans. The training fellowship will prepare the fellows to be able to return to their country with the skills and knowledge to support the process of implementing the change, empower communities and support youth engagement. 

While the Fellows program just began in June 2021, some of its main anticipated outcomes include:

• Development of a blended Climate and Health Curriculum with a One Health Approach. The project will design and refine over 4 cohorts of Fellows a blended learning (face-face and online), curriculum-directed Climate Change and Health Leaders fellowship program, which can be sustained beyond the end of the funded project. This will provide a novel training design for informing future climate and health leadership institutes.
• Climate and Health Leadership Development. An interdisciplinary cadre of 24 climate change fellows from across the Caribbean region will be trained in Climate Change, One Health and Leadership, so they can mutually support each other’s local leadership work, are aware of leadership roles /needs and are connected with critical agencies working on Climate Change across the Caribbean. The climate and health leaders will support climate and health advocacy efforts in their countries; motivate national climate and health engagement in planning processes; and develop meaningful community projects; and serve as agents of change for key target populations at the national level
• Establishing a One Health Approach to Climate and Health. Improved inter-sectoral/inter-agency communication and collaboration in areas of climate change and health through the development of a network of climate change and health practitioners from multiple sectors across multiple Caribbean countries, who are engaged with CARICOM agencies working on climate change and are trained to bring an interdisciplinary One Health approach into climate mitigation, adaptation and community action.

“There is definitely a disconnect and I hope being a part of this fellowship will enable us to make meaningful connections across the region…with such great minds coming together, what we want to do is continue to pass the baton and help the fellows who come behind us. Hopefully, we will have enough people who are passionate about change in this climate change arena so we can actually come together and do some great work for the region.”

Progress achieved through the Fellowship program since mid-2020:

• Widely disseminated call for applicants across the Caribbean community.
• Established a selection committee to review, rate and select a diverse initial cohort of Fellows.
• Finalised Fellowship curriculum which will be updated on an annual basis that includes building comfort and credibility in climate change and health issues, building change agent and leadership skills, readying to lead, and sustaining change.
• Held virtual 4-day opening workshop to orient the Fellows to the program and better understand role.
• Interviewed Fellows to develop human interest stories about their progress through the program and expectations.

First cohort of fellows in place from the following countries and organizations:

• Haiti – Medical Doctor / NGO Director
• Barbados – Ministry of Health and Wellness
• The Bahamas – Medical Doctor, Ministry of Health
• St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ministry of Health and the Environment (Health promotion)
• St Lucia – Technical officer (Environmental Health, CARPHA)
• Suriname – Ministry of Health (Environmental Inspectorate)

Challenges and Lessons Learned

Some of the key lessons learned from the Fellowship program include:

• Crucial importance of rigorous selection process with interview for finding a motivated and diverse cohort.
• Importance of securing permission from immediate supervisor / employer.
• Difficulty in terms of time and commitment to find technical mentors and leadership coaches with a Caribbean focus.
• Importance of engagement, teaching and fostering learning interactions between virtual sessions in order to maintain the momentum.
• Many adjustments in planning related to COVID-19 (e.g. online vs face-face).

Next steps

• Engagement with larger Caribbean Climate and Health community.
• Run 4 cohorts of 6 fellows – 16 eligible countries.
• Carry out M&E to fine tune and improve programme in real-time.
• Seek out linkages with the other EU/CARIFORUM partners and activities.
• Build a network of Caribbean Climate Change and Health practitioners.
• Ensure sustainability of programme – convert the course to online format.