Sustainable Development
The Health and Sustainable Development Action Group
The Health and Sustainable Development Action Group is
a group of collaborative and strategic partnerships which was
formed as a direct result of the National Symposium on Health &
Sustainable Development held in Edinburgh in March 2007 and has
been very active in taking forward the recommendations of the
Symposium and laid out in the UKPHA publication, Climates
& Change.
Two of the 'Immediate Actions' identified as priorities at the
Symposium are being energetically pursued. The Regions Task
Group led by Dr Gabriel Scally, Regional Director of Public Health
has been at the forefront of developing intra- and inter-Regional
partnerships focused upon practical initiatives which will reduce
the impact of climate change and unsustainable development on human
health.
The Regions Task Group and the Health & Sustainable
Development Action Group have been key to the national work which
has led to the launch of a major initiative on climate change and
public health workforce development the Climate
Connection. The Climate Connection will be rolled out across
the Regions developing as it goes a team of Regional Champions as
well as an interactive and flexible learning and knowledge
development system. (See below)
The Health & Sustainable Development Action Group also ran a
major workshop at the 17th Annual Public Health Forum in
Brighton encouraging delegates to become involved in the
development of healthy sustainable communities where the focus is
upon people - their contentment, wellbeing, resilience, and
fulfilment.
The Climate Connection
December 2008 saw the launch of a new partnership for public
health action and learning on climate change. The aim of "The
Climate Connection" is to motivate and equip the public health
community to respond effectively to the urgent challenges of
climate change - both in reducing emissions and in preparing for
unavoidable change.
The initiative has its roots in the National Symposium on Health
and Sustainable Development, organised by UKPHA in 2007, which
identified the need for "regionally led health and sustainable
development initiatives based on collaborative regional
partnerships, which will deliver planning, transport, food
production and employment decisions which will actively promote
healthy sustainable communities".
The December launch received support from across the public
health spectrum, including from the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam
Donaldson, and the Director General for Health Improvement,
Professor David Harper. Public health leaders and educators
came together with professionals from housing, transport, town
planning and other sectors - to map out a joint response to the
climate crisis, and to make a commitment to strengthening and
expanding Public Health regional activities, knowledge and
learning.
Since then, The Climate Connection has been working with the
North West and South West regions, to support their many good
initiatives already linking climate change with public health, link
them together in a coherent strategy, and build on the momentum of
the national launch. A particular focus is on connecting climate
change to mainstream public health programmes, such as obesity and
fuel poverty.
www.theclimateconnection.org
is a resource for the public health community, enabling sharing of
knowledge, experience and ideas on climate change and health.
The site is designed to encourage inter-professional collaboration,
active learning and a growing understanding of the interactions
between climate change, carbon emissions and the determinants of
health.
Individuals and organisations are
encouraged to establish a presence on the site, to upload relevant
events and resources and share their experience and thinking on
action for climate change in public health.
Please help us to expand the climate
connection online community by informing your networks and linking
to www.theclimateconnection.org
from your website.