Annual. Report Letter. HCF Annual Highlights 2010

Transcription

1 Health and Climate Foundation 1425 K St. NW, Suite 350 Washington, DC Tel. +1 (202) Fax. +1 (202) Annual 2010 Report Letter Summary of the activities of HCF HCF Annual Highlights 2010

2 Page 1 of 4 OUR MISSION Bridge the health and climate communities to catalyze new opportunities to reduce the impact of climate sensitive diseases. The HCF focuses on practical outcomes and achieves its mission by leveraging public and private partnerships, facilitating dialogue and building capacity to deliver solutions in vulnerable communities around the world. HCF Annual Highlights 2010 HCF Governance HCF has been fortunate in attracting talented and experienced individuals to its Board. New Member In 2010 Dr. Michel Jancloes joined the Board of HCF. Dr. Jancloes is a senior consultant for WHO in Ethiopia, Iran, Mali, Sweden and USA; for the European Union in Benin; and for IDA/Dutch Cooperation in the Netherlands. From , Dr. Jancloes was a senior advisor of the WHO Director General (DG) in Geneva and prior to that was the WHO in Ethiopia and the representative of the WHO DG to the African Union, Addis Ababa. From 1988 to 1998, Dr. Jancloes was the Director of the WHO Department of Intensified Cooperation with countries in greatest needs. Dr. Jancloes has also held the posts of advisor in WHO DG office on Health Economics, Medical Officer in the World Bank, Washington DC. Dr. Jancloes interests include sectorial approaches for integrated service delivery, in particular, related to Family Health; decentralized policies and strategies; and policy development including health issues and climate change, and dialogue with high level policy makers and multi-media support. Dr. Jancloes holds doctorates in Medicine (surgery and obstetrics) and Public Health. HCF around the world With new opportunities in China in 2010 HCF has opened an office in Shanghai to provide strategic opportunities complimentary to those provided by its Geneva and Washington bases. Activities HCF has had a very active year, continuing or initiating a number of important programs. The following is a summary of these activities. 1. MERIT HCF is committed to finding solutions for climate-sensitive diseases and, in particular, has focused its attention on meningococcal meningitis, a disease that puts nearly 350 million people at risk in Sub- Saharan Africa. In 2010, as an institutional member of the Steering Committee (also involving WHO, WMO, IRI, AEMET, HCF GEO), HCF continued its support the Meningitis Environmental Risk Information 1 P a g e

3 Page 2 of 4 Technologies (MERIT) Initiative. The aim of MERIT is to help reduce the burden of meningococcal meningitis in Africa. This is achieved through the creation of cross disciplinary partnerships engaging health, climate and related communities that can contribute new knowledge targeting specific policy options for meningitis reactive and proactive prevention and control faced by decision-makers in the Ministries of Health (and their partners) in affected countries. Priority activities promoted by MERIT include: A. Risk maps indicating the current and possible future spatial extent and seasonality of the meningitis belt B. Early warning systems capable of predicting year to year variability (including epidemics) C. Improved impact assessment methodologies for prevention efforts. Board members (Abere Mihretie, Michel Jancloes, Madeleine Thomson) attended the 4th international technical meeting for MERIT which was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in December The meeting was hosted by the Anti-Malaria Association, in partnership with the MERIT Steering Committee with political, practical, financial and support from HCF (and other partner organizations). The Foundation will continue to make MERIT a high priority for research and development support. MERIT has been making steady progress since its inception in 2007 with an expanding number of institutions and individuals contributing to its success. 2. Leptospirosis Building on the organizational strength of MERIT, HCF and WHO are partnering to use the same approach to initiate a new program on the detection and treatment of Leptospirosis. The reservoir for these bacteria is rodents. Outbreaks are frequently associated with flooding. Look out for an update in the 2011 Annual Report. 3. Girls Education HCF has continued to support health related programs through the Anti-Malaria Association and Climate and Health Working Group in Ethiopia. In 2010, HCF provided funding support for a program for the education of 50 orphaned girls. The goal of the education program is to create healthy women of the future who can protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and other diseases as well as be able to support themselves in the future. The objectives are to enable adolescent girls to continue their high school education; to provide an appropriate environment that resembles a home for these girls to continue their education; to prevent girls from being infected by HIV/AIDS; to prevent girls from being forced into early marriage and prostitution. The committee members of Anti-Malaria Association which are organized in different areas will be responsible for identifying needy and vulnerable girls to be included in the group home. The expected outcomes are that the selected girls will have the opportunity to pursue their education even to the level of university/college; that they will become empowered and independent women through education and foster care; that future women will be free from 2 P a g e

4 Page 3 of 4 HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy; and that the program will produce productive citizens. 4. Shanghai Health Meteorology Forecasting Program Shanghai has become the first mega-urban city to showcase a multi-hazard early warning system in an urban setting with the support of WMO and partners. In 2010, HCF was invited by the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau to help them and the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau to start a health and meteorology program. This has led to the development of the Shanghai Health Meteorology Forecasting Program, and we were invited to form and lead an International Advisory Committee to advise the City of Shanghai on behalf of the Vice Mayor. This committee includes representatives of WHO, WMO, World Bank, Queensland University, University of Auckland, New York City Health, and several health organizations. The program will expand further in 2011 with a likely greater role for HCF in developing a plan for Shanghai s Health City Intelligent City, which will include partnerships with other major cities and the creation of an International Forum. 5. Conference Travel Support Travel support was also provided for the participation of experts from the African Center of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) in Niger to attend the Group on Earth Observations Health and Climate Community of Practice meeting which took place in Paris July Presentations were made on the activities of ACMAD in climate and health in Africa. 6. Contracts and Grants In 2010 HCF began to develop contract and grant funded projects. A. US NWS In 2010, HCF was request by the US National Weather Service to assist in the development of their latest strategic plan, which is emphasizing working with sectorial users of weather and climate information, such as health, transportation, and energy. B. Kofi Annan Foundation In partnership with the Kofi Annan Foundation, HCF submitted a proposal to the Swedish Lottery for funding for a project to understand the capacity of local farmers and fishers to use weather and climate information in their daily activities. The aim is help improve capacity of people in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to make better livelihood decisions that will improve their overall health and well-being. Implementation of the project started in January 2011 in partnership with the Aga Khan University in Nairobi and ACMAD. The Swedish Lottery has provided approximately $400K of funding for 18 months. C. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and Rockefeller Foundation have also requested HCF involvement as a sponsor of a project to improve weather and climate information in Kenya in 3 P a g e

5 Page 4 of 4 collaboration with the Kenyan Meteorological Department, Ministry of Agriculture and other national actors. Along with BMGF and Rockefeller Foundation, HCF is a member of the project steering committee. D. ClimDev-Africa HCF is part of a consortium of African Institutions (ACMAD, AGRHYMET, ICPAC and DMC), which are responsible for the implementation of AfriClimServ. This is a $30M program funded by the African Development Bank, designed to increase the capacity of African regional climate institutions to assist National Meteorological and Hydrological Services meet climate information needs in their respective countries. HCF is responsible for a component of this program aimed at increasing the capacity to deliver weather and climate information relevant to health and agriculture. The program will commence in mid A Look Ahead The priority activity of the HCF going forward remains the convening of policy dialogues and crosssectoral technical communities focused on the better management of climate related risks to the health of vulnerable populations. However, HCF faces a number of important decisions in 2011 with regard to the development of our funding base. As indicated above our current work includes convening communities, externally funded projects and the disbursement of small grants (including travel grants). Of these projects - provide an opportunity to grow the organization through the addition of funds. Opportunities currently exist for an expansion of activities in convening and project development in Africa and China. However we must take care to ensure that financial growth does not detract from institutional priorities. Project development must go hand in hand with the strategic direction of the organization. In 2011 the HCF Board will be working hard to build the organization into a viable midsized organization capable of taking on whole-heartedly the challenges and opportunities that our mission provides. As we make these changes we look to a broader engagement with the friends of HCF and to reporting back exciting new developments in our next annual letter! David Rogers, HCF President 4 P a g e