Pasteur Network Climate and Health Convening

Launch of a Climate-Health Observatory Accelerator program during the Pasteur Network Climate and Health Convening
(Dakar, June 4-5, 2024)

On June 4-5 in Dakar Senegal, 60+ participants, including members of the Pasteur Network and external experts met to discuss how the Pasteur Network can help address the growing impact of climate change on global health, fostering collaborative research and innovative solutions to mitigate emerging health threats and improve public health resilience

The event was supported by The Rockefeller Foundation and the HKJC Institute of Philanthropy who are funding the Pasteur Network’s new Climate-Health Observatory Accelerator program which aims to:

1. Create foundations for C-H observatories through global network of Fellows.
   This fellowship program is a unique opportunity designed for members in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) to empower researchers to provide support to local stakeholders in making informed decisions with regards to climate and health.
2. Advance generalizable tools and practices through Pasteur Network Exemplars
   Exemplar members of the Pasteur Network will share their knowledge and expertise in climate and health and help to guide the fellowship cohort in their region
3. Scale impact through shared knowledge via Global Goods and an internal knowledge sharing platform. The 2-day event in Dakar focused on the Accelerator project in more detail, including break-out discussion sessions specifically on the fellowship program design and development of global goods.

Global experts also presented and facilitated discussion on various topics such as updates on the progress of the Pandemic Treaty (Dr. Maria de Lourdes Aguiar Oliveira from FioCruz), important trends and considerations for integrating climate aspects into health surveillance efforts (Dr. Linda Venczel from PATH), connecting climate-health recommendations with policy and investment decisions for government stakeholders (Mr. Jackson Kimani from Climate Action Platform for Africa-CAP-A), showcase of the WHO HIVE collaboration platform (Mr. Brian Yau from WHO), and a round table discussion on the development and dissemination of global goods (Dr. Cristina Tato from Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, Mr. Gaurav Godhwani from Civic Data Lab, and Dr. Felipe Colón-González from Wellcome Trust)

The convening was also an important celebration of Institut Pasteur de Dakar’s 100th anniversary, including a tour of the institute and a celebration cocktail. Celebrating IP Dakar’s 100th anniversary marks a century of pioneering research, innovation, and contributions to global health, reinforcing its vital role in combating infectious diseases and improving public health worldwide The Pasteur Network extends its heartfelt gratitude to the Rockefeller Foundation and the Institute of Philanthropy for their generous support, which made the meeting in Dakar on June 4-5th possible. We also wish to thank all the participants for their invaluable contributions and engagement, which were instrumental in advancing our discussions on the critical intersection of climate and health.