Now that the world's attention is increasingly focused on climate-change adaptation, it is essential for the health community to better understand the role that climate plays in driving disease burdens and affecting human health, according to the Director General of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan.

With this in mind, the IRI, the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) and the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University organized the Summer Institute 2008 on Climate Information for Public Health. Thirteen professionals from nine countries completed the intensive two-week course, during which they learned how to use climate knowledge to make better decisions for health-care planning and control of climate-sensitive diseases. The Summer Institute included a series of expert presentations and seminars, opportunities for participants to discuss collaborative intersectoral operational and research efforts with each other and expert facilitators, and also to gain hands-on experience with analytic tools. Currently, the Summer Institute team is starting to plan for SI 2009 while using the experience gained in SI 2008 to support a series of training efforts in Colombia, Niger and Ethiopia.

To learn more about the course, please visit our previous web story, or play the audio slide show below.

The IRI is the premier global research and capacity building institution focused on the use of climate information in public health decision-making. IRI is a collaborating center with WHO-PAHO on climate sensitive diseases and has active international partnerships concerning malaria, meningococcal meningitis, Rift Valley Fever and other diseases including an interest in dengue, diarrhoeal diseases and Kala-azar (leishmaniasis). The IRI and other members of Columbia University together combine extensive experience in environmental health, population mapping and modeling with climate prediction and the study of climate variability and change.