Uniting to address the critical data gap in Samoa on health and climate impacts was at the heart of a stakeholder consultation in February. Samoa is one of four countries participating in the Pacific Action to Enhance the Visibility of Evidence on Health and Climate Impacts (PAVE-Health) Project.
The Pacific Islands are amongst the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, despite contributing to less than 0.03% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. There are significant impacts to human health from climate change through the increase risks of heat related illnesses such as heatstroke and dehydration, increase of vector borne diseases such as dengue fever amongst others.
Work is now underway through the PAVE-Health Project to build the evidence and data on this issue in Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Samoa and Solomon Islands for informed decision making on climate change and health. The goal of PAVE-Health is to support a healthier, climate resilient region by addressing urgent climate-related health risks and improve access to climate finance.
“Climate change is already affecting the health of our people. Through PAVE-Health, we aim to strengthen evidence, build local capacity, and support informed policy decisions to protect Samoa’s health system and communities,” presented Dr Tagaloa Robert Thompsen, Deputy Director General of Public Health in Samoa.
The Samoa Ministry of Health in partnership with the Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC) at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) held a national consultation in February bringing together a wide range of partners and stakeholders to learn more about the project and agree to a united way forward.
“The PAVE-Health Project aims to advance research at the local level, promote the use of evidence and data sets to better understand and respond to the health impacts of climate change,” said Mr Fred Patison Climate Change Readiness Advisor for the PCCC.
“For Samoa, the project will support national efforts to improve data visibility, inform decision-making, and strengthen resilience within the health sector and those at the forefront. We acknowledge Samoa’s leadership and stewardship of this initiative, with the PCCC committed to supporting its effective implementation and timely delivery.”
A working committee was formed to guide the project forward in Samoa as stakeholders welcomed the initiative and emphasised the importance of collaborative approaches in addressing emerging climate-related health risks. The engagement marked an important first step in advancing Samoa’s commitment to building climate-resilient health systems through informed planning and partnership through PAVE- Health Project.
The PAVE - Health Project is a three-year regional initiative that was birthed from a partnership between the PCCC hosted at the SPREP and the University of Melbourne that successfully mobilised AUD4.8million from Wellcome Trust Climate Impact Award.
The program was co-designed and co-delivered by the MOH, PCCC-SPREP and University of Melbourne with the objective to provide an enabling platform to build awareness, effective and efficient coordination and ensure PAVE-Health Project aligns with existing policies, strategies, and ongoing initiatives in the national health sector.
The national stakeholder engagement facilitated by the Samoa Ministry of Health and SPREP was held on 27 February hosted by the Ministry of Health at its Headquarter Office at Motootua. The engagement brought together key representatives from government ministries, development partners, research institutions, technical stakeholders to introduce the project’s objectives and discuss Samoa’s priorities at the intersection of climate change and health.
Lead photo: D.McFadzien