Call to Action from the Global Heat Health Information Network
Published: July 18, 2019
Heat stress is a serious and urgent health threat. Coordinated knowledge and action from many disciplines and authorities is needed to prepare and address the expanding challenges of more frequent and extreme heatwaves and warmer temperatures.
The Call to Action from the 1st Global Forum on Heat and Health was launched in May during the UNDRR Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, to highlight critical steps to strengthen heat action.
The Call to Action was informed by discussion at the First Global Forum on Heat and Health, held in Hong Kong, China from 17-20 December 2018, where over 120 interdisciplinary experts and practitioners from 33 countries shared experiences and outlined priorities for a global common action agenda to better manage heat risks to health.
The Global Heat Health Information Network and its partner organizations, plan to work together to build capacity by:
- urgently improving awareness of the disaster that increasing extreme heat poses to human health, wellbeing, and productivity worldwide;
- catalyzing and sustaining interdisciplinary partnerships and co-learning between research and practitioners across relevant government, academic, private sector and civil society bodies;
- improving access to expert resources and opportunities for learning, exchange, and engagement;
- identifying and promoting action to address critical gaps in research, knowledge and action.
