NEWS The Umeå Centre for Global Health Research, which carries out research on the impact of climate change on human health, has obtained observer status at the United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen in December, after tight competition with other international counterparts.
Climate change impacts living conditions throughout the world. Depending on where one lives on the planet, it will take different forms and thereby affect human health in several different ways. The Umeå Centre for Global Health Research (UCGHR) is a centre of excellence within Umeå University, set up in 2007 through a grant from FAS, the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research and supported by co-funding from Umeå University. Their mission is to engage with a global agenda on health research, addressing critical issues in global health and facilitating interaction and collaboration between Northern and Southern partners.
UCGHR has placed priority on studies on how rising temperatures and air pollution can lead to increased morbidity and mortality, and how infectious diseases are affected by climate change. Their research has a global perspective and studies how health may be affected both the Nouthern and Sorthern hemispheres. In turn, this provides a basis for assessing the adjustments necessary to meet health threats resulting from climate change.
At the UN climate change conference that will be held during 7-18 December in Copenhagen, Denmark, UCGHR will be represented by senior researchers and will present a special edition of the internationally peer reviewed open-access journal Global Health Action. This edition features over 20 articles in which researchers from Umeå University along with other international contributors reflect how climate change affects infectious disease patterns and the increasing temperatures can bring dramatic health and safety implications, particularly in developing countries.
For more information, please contact:Maria Nilsson, Scientific Coordinator for the area of climate change and global health conditionsDepartment of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Epidemiology and Public Health Sciences, Umeå University Phone :+46 (0)70-349 71 74
E-mail: maria.nilsson@epiph.umu.se
Umeå Centre for Global Health (UCGHR)Global Health ActionUN Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen
Photo credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
Editor: David Meyers