What ‘do no harm’ means as temperatures soar
Medical workers are key to adapting to the realities of global warming, but they are not receiving the necessary training.
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Rising global temperatures threaten clean air, drinking water, nutritious food, and shelter, and have an impact on diseases, mental health and more.
PHOTO: AFP
Lara Williams
We trust doctors to be up to date with the latest developments in medical science. So it’s concerning that our future medical professionals aren’t being trained sufficiently or consistently on a very real threat to public health: climate change. With doctors and students alike raising the alarm, new initiatives such as the European Network on Climate and Health Education (Enche) are springing up to more closely align medical practice with the climate crisis. But broader, structural changes need to follow swiftly.
Enche was launched on Oct 14 by a group of 25 medical schools from 12 European countries including Britain, France and Germany. Led by the University of Glasgow, the network will be the first regional hub of the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE) at Columbia University in New York.
