Stories

Tag: health

  • Colonization, climate change, and indigenous health: from Algiers to Acre

    Colonization, climate change, and indigenous health: from Algiers to Acre

    I sat in a conference hall in Rio Branco, Acre State, Brazil.

    My mind was in a sanatorium of Algiers, Algeria.

    This was where my mother was sent as a girl.

    They told her she got tuberculosis because she was an “indigène musulman”.

    In 1938, the year of my mother’s birth and after over a century of colonization, about 5 out of every 100 Algerian people got infected with tuberculosis each year.

    French colonial reports show that Algerians died from tuberculosis at much higher rates than French settlers.

    They claimed the disease was endemic due to the supposed inferiority of our people.

    And that she was going to die.

    Colonialism is a liar.

    She survived.

    And it took less than eight years for an independent Algeria, free of the scourge of colonialism, to eradicate the scourge of TB.

    Listening to the leaders at Brazil’s First National Seminar on Indigenous Health and Climate Change, I heard that same lie being dismantled.

    The body of the territory, the body of the people

    I listened.

    I heard a diagnosis specific to their lands and histories, and recognized a familiar pattern.

    The territory is a living body, they said.

    When it is sick, we are sick.

    Ceiça Pitaguary is an indigenous leader and activist from the Pitaguary people in Brazil.

    The crisis, she explained, is a daily reality of “prolonged droughts, devastating floods, intense storms, and the rise in temperatures” that represents “real losses experienced in the body and on the territory”.

    This is a wound with many layers.

    There are the physical symptoms an epidemiologist would recognize: respiratory illnesses from fire and waterborne diseases from floods.

    But the deeper sickness that speakers diagnosed, one after another, is a systemic decay.

    I listened as Wallace Apurinã stated that when the floods come, “traditional medicine, which is such an important and fundamental knowledge for our subsistence… this ends”.

    It is a crisis that creates what Elisa Pankararu named a “collective sadness”.

    “Our people are sad,” she said, because the world is in imbalance.

    This is a spiritual wound, like the one Juliana Tupinikim described.

    She said the Krenak people lost not just a river to a mining disaster, but “fundamental elements of their spirituality and cultural identity”.

    The crisis, Gemina Shanenawá insisted, is not abstract.

    “It has a face, a name, and a territory: the face of Indigenous women”.

    She gave voice to their struggle: “‘I lost everything, I lost my house, I lost my pigs, my chickens. And now? What am I going to do?’”.

    The architecture of failure

    There is a pathogen worse than fossil fuel.

    It is colonialism.

    I recognized its stench in the testimony of the leaders.

    It is a system designed to fail its most vulnerable.

    Weibe Tapeba, Brazil’s Secretary of Indigenous Health, described the paralysis.

    “Today, our Indigenous territories are not understood as federal units,” he said.

    This means that they are unable to issue crucial decrees themselves, which severely hinders their ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from increasingly frequent catastrophic events.

    “We do not have the autonomy to issue such a decree ourselves”.

    This intentional powerlessness leaves communities exposed.

    It creates the chain reaction that researcher Renata Gracie detailed in the Yanomami territory, where illegal mining leads directly to “an enormous increment in the occurrence of malaria, trachoma, measles, tuberculosis, malnutrition”.

    The state’s response—culturally inappropriate food baskets were one example I heard—is changing.

    It was impressive to see how government, with leadership from Tapeba and others, engages in meaningful, open dialogue by and for indigenous communities.

    What you call anecdote, we call ancestral science

    An invisible but profound violence of colonization is the dismissal of a people’s way of knowing.

    Your science is ’data’.

    Ours is ’folklore’.

    The entire seminar was a rebellion against this lie.

    In my own talk, I spoke about how health workers’ expertise – what they know because they are there every day – is often devalued as mere “anecdote”.

    Putira Sacuena provided the most powerful rebuttal.

    She spoke of a small frog in the Xingu territory.

    “We stopped hearing its sound in the territory”, she explained.

    The frog’s silence predicted the rise in respiratory illness and diarrhea.

    She said: this is ancestral science.

    It is a signal from a highly sophisticated, multi-generational system of environmental monitoring.

    Our existing systems do not just miss this data.

    They are structurally incapable of recognizing it as data in the first place.

    The challenge, then, is to begin the work of unlearning the colonial biases that prevent us from seeing the knowledge that is right in front of us.

    It requires us to abandon the “high, hard ground” of our self-referential expertise.

    The fight for health here is, more than we realized, a fight for cognitive justice, a demand that such knowledge be seen not as a cultural artifact, but as essential data.

    As Ceiça Pitaguary declared, “The fight against the climate crisis will not be won without Indigenous peoples”.

    That is not a political slogan.

    It is a vital, scientific truth of our time.

    It demands that we, in our institutions and our fields of practice, dismantle the systems that are causing this devastation.

    References

    1. Bentata, K., Alihalassa, S., Gharnaout, M., Bennani, M.A., Berrabah, Y., 2025. Algerian Tuberculosis Control Program: 60 Years of Successful Experience. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.86357
    2. Brubacher, L.J., Peach, L., Chen, T.T.-W., Longboat, S., Dodd, W., Elliott, S.J., Patterson, K., Neufeld, H., 2024. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and Indigenous Peoples’ health and wellbeing: A systematic umbrella review. PLOS Glob Public Health 4, e0002995. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0002995
    3. Ellwanger, J.H., others, 2020. Beyond diversity loss and climate change: Impacts of Amazon deforestation on infectious diseases and public health. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciencias. https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765202020191010
    4. Ford, J.D., 2012. Indigenous Health and Climate Change. Am J Public Health 102, 1260–1266. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2012.300752
    5. Grande, A.J., Dias, I.M.A.V., Jardim, P.T.C., Aparecida Vieira Machado, A., Soratto, J., Da Rosa, M.I., Ceretta, L.B., Zourntos, X., Suares, R.O., Harding, S., 2024. Environmental degradation, climate change and health from the perspective of Brazilian Indigenous stakeholders: a qualitative study. BMJ Open 14, e083624. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-083624
    6. Jones, R., Macmillan, A., Reid, P., 2020. Climate Change Mitigation Policies and Co-Impacts on Indigenous Health: A Scoping Review. IJERPH 17, 9063. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17239063
    7. Kramer, C.K., Leitão, C.B., Viana, L.V., 2022. The impact of urbanisation on the cardiometabolic health of Indigenous Brazilian peoples: a systematic review and meta-analysis, and data from the Brazilian Health registry. The Lancet 400, 2074–2083. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00625-0
    8. Lavallee, L.F., Poole, J.M., 2010. Beyond Recovery: Colonization, Health and Healing for Indigenous People in Canada. Int J Ment Health Addiction 8, 271–281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-009-9239-8
    9. Lin, C.Y., Loyola-Sanchez, A., Boyling, E., Barnabe, C., 2020. Community engagement approaches for Indigenous health research: recommendations based on an integrative review. BMJ Open 10, e039736. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039736
    10. Pontes, A.L., others, 2020. Health reform and Indigenous health policy in Brazil. Health Policy and Planning. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czaa116
    11. Rankoana, S.A., 2022. Climate change impacts on indigenous health promotion: the case study of Dikgale community in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Glob Health Promot 29, 58–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/17579759211015183
    12. Reading, C., Wien, F., 2009. Health inequalities and the social determinants of Aboriginal health. National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health.
    13. Redvers, N., Celidwen, Y., Schultz, C., Horn, O., Githaiga, C., Vera, M., Perdrisat, M., Mad Plume, L., Kobei, D., Kain, M.C., Poelina, A., Rojas, J.N., Blondin, B., 2022. The determinants of planetary health: an Indigenous consensus perspective. The Lancet Planetary Health 6, e156–e163. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00354-5
    14. Rieger, K.L., Horton, M., Copenace, S., Bennett, M., Buss, M., Chudyk, A.M., Cook, L., Hornan, B., Horrill, T., Linton, J., McPherson, K., Rattray, J.M., Murray, K., Phillips-Beck, W., Sinclair, R., Slavutskiy, O., Stewart, R., Schultz, A.S., 2023. Elevating the Uses of Storytelling Methods Within Indigenous Health Research: A Critical, Participatory Scoping Review. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 22, 16094069231174764. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231174764
    15. Roher, S.I.G., Yu, Z., Martin, D.H., Benoit, A.C., 2021. How is Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing characterized in Indigenous health research? A scoping review. PLoS ONE 16, e0254612. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254612
    16. Sadki, R., 2025. Climate change and health: a new peer learning programme by and for health workers from the most climate-vulnerable countries. https://doi.org/10.59350/redasadki.21339
    17. Sadki, R., 2001. Colonialism and disease: tuberculosis in Algeria. https://doi.org/10.59350/jhbhx-zm765
    18. Sadki, R., 2024. Knowing-in-action: Bridging the theory-practice divide in global health. https://doi.org/10.59350/4evj5-vm802
    19. Sadki, R., 2024. Strengthening primary health care in a changing climate. https://doi.org/10.59350/5s2zf-s6879
    20. Sadki, R., 2025. WHO Global Conference on Climate and Health: New pathways to overcome structural barriers blocking effective climate and health action. https://doi.org/10.59350/redasadki.21322
    21. Sanchez, J.J., Gitau, E., Sadki, R., Mbuh, C., Silver, K., Berry, P., Bhutta, Z., Bogard, K., Collman, G., Dey, S., Dinku, T., Dwipayanti, N.M.U., Ebi, K., Felts La Roca Soares, M., Gudoshava, M., Hashizume, M., Lichtveld, M., Lowe, R., Mateen, B., Muchangi, M., Ndiaye, O., Omay, P., Pinheiro dos Santos, W., Ruiz-Carrascal, D., Shumake-Guillemot, J., Stewart-Ibarra, A., Tiwari, S., 2025. The climate crisis and human health: identifying grand challenges through participatory research. The Lancet Global Health 13, e199–e200. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2214-109x(25)00003-8
    22. Sahu, M., others, 2022. Measuring Impact of Climate Change on Indigenous Populations’ Health: A Global Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315592
    23. Sanson‐Fisher, R.W., Campbell, E.M., Perkins, J.J., Blunden, S.V., Davis, B.B., 2006. Indigenous health research: a critical review of outputs over time. Medical Journal of Australia 184, 502–505. https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00343.x
    24. Santos, H.C.D., Mill, J.G., 2024. Multimorbidity and associated factors in the adult Indigenous population living in villages in the municipality of Aracruz, Espírito Santo, State, Brazil. Cad. Saúde Pública 40, e00135323. https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-311xen135323
    25. Silva-Junior, C.H.L., others, 2023. Brazilian Amazon indigenous territories under climate and deforestation pressure: an analysis of 2013-2021 period. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31570-y
    26. Smallwood, R., Woods, C., Power, T., Usher, K., 2021. Understanding the Impact of Historical Trauma Due to Colonization on the Health and Well-Being of Indigenous Young Peoples: A Systematic Scoping Review. J Transcult Nurs 32, 59–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043659620935955
    27. Soares, G.H., Jamieson, L., Biazevic, M.G.H., Michel-Crosato, E., 2022. Disparities in Excess Mortality Between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Brazilians in 2020: Measuring the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 9, 2227–2236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-021-01162-w
    28. Thebaud, A., Lert, F., 1985. Maladie subie, maladie dominee, industrialisation et technologie medicale: Le cas de la tuberculose. Social Science & Medicine 21, 129–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(85)90081-4
    29. Thomas, A., 2024. Colonization as a Determinant of Health. Western University Global Health Equity.
    30. US Environmental Protection Agency, 2025. Climate Change and the Health of Indigenous Populations. EPA.
    31. World Health Organization, 2025. Global Plan of Action for Health of Indigenous Peoples. WHO.

    Image: The Geneva Learning Foundation Collection © 2025

  • Climate change and health: a new peer learning programme by and for health workers from the most climate-vulnerable countries

    Climate change and health: a new peer learning programme by and for health workers from the most climate-vulnerable countries

    GENEVA, Switzerland, 23 July 2025 (The Geneva Learning Foundation) –Today, The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) announces the launch of “Learning to lead change on the frontline of climate change and health,” the inaugural course in a new certificate programme designed by and for professionals facing climate change impacts on health.

    Enrollment is now open. The course will launch on 11 August 2025.

    Two years ago today, nearly 5,000 health professionals from across the developing world gathered online for an unprecedented conversation. They shared something most climate scientists had never heard: detailed, firsthand accounts of how rising temperatures, extreme weather, and environmental changes were already devastating the health of their communities.

    The stories were urgent and specific. A nurse in Ghana described managing surges of malaria after unprecedented flooding. A community health worker in Bangladesh explained how cholera outbreaks followed every major storm. A pharmacist in Nigeria watched children suffer malnutrition as crops failed during extended droughts.

    “I can hear the worry in your voices,” one global health partner told participants during those historic July 2023 events, “and I really respect the time that you are giving to tell us about what is happening to you directly.”

    Connecting the dots from individual impact to systemic crisis

    While climate change dominates headlines for its environmental and economic impacts, a parallel health crisis has been quietly unfolding in clinics and hospitals across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Health workers have become first-hand witnesses to climate change’s human toll.

    Dr. Seydou Mohamed Ouedraogo from Burkina Faso described devastating floods that “really marked the memory of the inhabitants” and led to cascading health impacts.

    Felix Kole from Gambia reported that “wells have turned to salty water” due to rising sea levels, while extreme heat meant “people are no longer sleeping inside their houses,” creating new security and health complications.

    Rebecca Akello, a public health nurse from Uganda, documented malnutrition impacts directly: “During dry spells where there is no food, children come and their growth monitoring shows they really score low weight for age.”

    Health professionals like Dr. Iktiyar Kandaker from Bangladesh already get that this is a systemic challenge: “Our health system is not prepared to actually address these situations. So this is a combined challenge… but it requires a lot of time to fix it.”

    These health workers serve as what TGLF calls “trusted advisors”—over half describe themselves as being like “members of the family” to the populations they serve. Yet until now, they have had no structured way to learn from each other’s experiences or develop coordinated responses to climate health challenges.

    Learning from those who know because they are there every day

    “It is something that all of us have to join hands to be able to do the most we can to educate our communities on what they can do,” said Monica Agu, a community pharmacist from Nigeria who participated in the founding 2023 events. Her words captured the collaborative spirit that has driven the programme’s development.

    The new certificate programme employs TGLF’s proven peer learning methodology, recognizing that health workers are already implementing life-saving climate adaptations with limited resources. During the 2023 events, participants shared examples of modified immunization schedules during heat waves, cholera outbreak management after flooding, and maintaining health services during extreme weather events.

    “We believe that investing in health workers is one of the best ways to accelerate and strengthen the response to climate change impacts on health,” explains TGLF Executive Director Reda Sadki.

    The programme has been developed from comprehensive analysis of health worker experiences documented since 2023. Most observations come from small and medium-sized communities in the most climate-vulnerable countries.

    For health, a different kind of climate action

    Unlike traditional climate programmes focused on policy or infrastructure, this initiative recognizes that effective climate health responses must be developed by those experiencing the impacts firsthand. The course enables health workers to share their own experiences, learn from colleagues facing similar challenges, and develop both individual and collective responses.

    Dr. Eme Ngeda from the Democratic Republic of Congo captured this approach during the 2023 events: “We are all responsible for these climate disruptions. We must sensitize our populations in waste management and sensitize how to reform our healthcare providers to face resilience, face disasters.”

    The programme connects leaders from more than 4,000 locally-led health organizations through TGLF’s REACH network, enabling them to become programme partners supporting their health workers in developing climate-health leadership skills.

    Building global solutions by connecting local, indigenous knowledge and expertise

    The inaugural course offers health professionals worldwide the opportunity to learn from documented experiences of colleagues who are facing unprecedented consequences of climate change on health. Rather than lectures or theoretical frameworks, the programme employs structured reflection and peer feedback cycles, enabling participants to develop actionable implementation plans informed by peer knowledge and global guidance.

    The course covers four key areas based on health worker experiences:

    • Climate and environmental changes: Recognizing connections between climate and health in local communities.
    • Health impacts on communities: Understanding direct health impacts, food security, and mental health effects.
    • Changing disease patterns: Managing infectious diseases, respiratory conditions, and healthcare access challenges.
    • Community responses and adaptations: Implementing local solutions and innovations from peer experiences.

    Participants earn verified certificates aligned to professional development competency frameworks. Upon completion, they join TGLF’s global community of health practitioners for ongoing peer support and collaboration.

    The urgency of now

    The programme launches at a critical moment. Climate change impacts on health are accelerating, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where health systems are least equipped to respond. Yet these same regions are producing innovative, resource-efficient solutions that could benefit communities worldwide.

    As one health worker reflected during the 2023 events: “Although climate change is a global phenomenon, it is affecting very, very locally people in very different ways.” The new programme acknowledges this reality while creating pathways for local solutions to inform global responses.

    The course is available in English and French, designed to work on mobile devices and basic internet connections. It is free for health workers in participating countries.

    For health workers who have been managing climate impacts in isolation, the programme offers something unprecedented: the chance to learn from colleagues who truly understand their challenges and to contribute their own expertise to a growing global knowledge base.

    As the climate health crisis deepens, the solutions may well come from those who have been living with its impacts longest—if we finally give them the platforms and recognition they deserve.

    Image: The Geneva Learning Foundation Collection © 2025

  • The cost of inaction: Quantifying the impact of climate change on health

    The cost of inaction: Quantifying the impact of climate change on health

    This World Bank report ‘The Cost of Inaction: Quantifying the Impact of Climate Change on Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries’ presents new analysis of climate change impacts on health systems and outcomes in the regions that are bearing the brunt of these impacts.

    Key analytical insights to quantify climate change impacts on health

    The report makes three contributions to our understanding of climate-health interactions:

    First, it quantifies the massive scale of climate change impacts on health, projecting 4.1-5.2 billion climate-related disease cases and 14.5-15.6 million deaths in LMICs by 2050. This represents a significant advancement over previous estimates, which the report demonstrates were substantial underestimates.

    Second, it illuminates the profound economic consequences, calculating costs of $8.6-20.8 trillion by 2050 (0.7-1.3% of LMIC GDP). The report employs both Value of Statistical Life and Years of Life Lost approaches to provide a range of economic impact estimates.

    Third, it reveals stark geographic inequities in impact distribution, with Sub-Saharan Africa bearing approximately 71% of cases and nearly half of deaths, while South Asia faces about 18% of cases and a quarter of deaths. This spatial analysis helps identify where interventions are most urgently needed.

    Policy implications and systemic perspectives

    The report’s findings point to several critical policy directions:

    • The need for systemic rather than disease-specific interventions emerges as a central theme. The authors explicitly advocate for strengthening entire health systems rather than pursuing vertical disease programs.
    • The economic analysis makes a compelling case for immediate action, demonstrating that the costs of inaction far exceed potential investment requirements for climate-resilient health systems.
    • The geographic distribution of impacts highlights the need for globally coordinated responses while prioritizing support for the most vulnerable regions.

    The findings suggest that transforming systems to address climate change impacts on health requires not just technical solutions but fundamental rethinking of how health systems are organized and financed in vulnerable regions.

    This aligns with recent scholarship on complex adaptive systems and organizational transformation in global health.

    The report’s emphasis on systemic approaches represents a significant shift in thinking about climate-health interventions. This merits unpacking on several levels:

    1. Inadequacy of vertical disease silos: The report challenges the traditional vertical disease management paradigm that has dominated global health programming for decades. While vertical programs have achieved notable successes in areas like HIV/AIDS or malaria control, the report argues that climate change’s multifaceted health impacts require a fundamentally different approach.
    2. Need for systemic intervention: Climate change simultaneously affects multiple disease pathways, nutrition status, and health infrastructure. These interactions cannot be effectively addressed through isolated disease-specific programs. Building core health system capabilities (surveillance, emergency response, primary care) creates multiplicative benefits across various climate-related health challenges. Strong health systems can better identify and respond to emerging threats, whereas vertical programs often lack this flexibility.
    3. Implementation implications: The report suggests this systemic approach requires: integrated planning across health system components, flexible funding mechanisms that support system-wide capabilities, enhanced coordination between different health programmes and investment in cross-cutting infrastructure and capabilities.

    What about the health workforce facing impacts of climate change on health?

    Between this clear-eyed assessment and effective action lies a critical implementation gap.

    Interestingly, the report gives limited explicit attention to the health workforce dimension of climate-health challenges. Yet that is precisely where we need to focus attention, given that:

    • Health workers based in communities are first responders to climate-related health emergencies
    • Workforce capacity significantly determines a health system’s adaptive capabilities
    • Climate change itself affects health worker distribution and effectiveness

    Given the report’s emphasis on systemic approaches, the lack of detailed discussion about human resources for health represents a missed opportunity to explore what effective action might look like.

    The Geneva Learning Foundation’s network, developed through nearly a decade of research and practice, has led us to identify a path for supporting the health workforce to strengthen preparedness and response in response to climate change impacts on health.

    The network already connects over 60,000 health workers. They represent all job roles, rank, and levels of the health system.

    One distinguishing feature of this network is its deep integration with existing government health systems. Over half of network participants are government employees, from community health workers to district officers to national planners.

    62% of participants work in remote rural areas, 47% serve urban poor populations, and 21% operate in conflict zones.

    These are not just statistics: they represent an unprecedented capability to mobilize knowledge and action where it’s most needed.

    Since 2023, network participants have been sharing observations, experiences, and insights of climate change impacts on health. 

    The model connects different levels of health systems:

    • Community-based health workers share ground-level observations
    • District managers identify emerging patterns
    • National planners gauge system-wide implications
    • Global partners access real-time insights

    When a malaria control officer in Kenya observes changing disease patterns due to altered rainfall, the network enables rapid sharing of this insight with colleagues working on water safety, nutrition, and primary care. These cross-domain connections do not need to be left to chance – they can be enabled through structured peer learning processes that transcend traditional programme, geographic, and hierarchical boundaries

    This creates what organizational theorists call “embedded transformation” – where system change emerges through existing structures rather than requiring new ones.

    Rather than creating new coordination mechanisms, the network enables:

    • Health workers to learn directly from peers in other programs
    • Rapid identification of cross-cutting challenges
    • Spontaneous formation of problem-solving groups
    • Systematic sharing of effective practices

    Rather than replacing existing structures, TGLF’s model demonstrates how digital networks can enable health systems to:

    • Maintain necessary specialization while fostering crucial connections
    • Enable rapid learning and adaptation across programs
    • Optimize resource use through enhanced coordination
    • Build system-wide resilience through structured peer learning

    Such a network enables what complexity theorists call “distributed sensing” that can provide:

    • Early warning of emerging threats
    • Rapid sharing of local solutions
    • System-wide learning from local innovations
    • Continuous adaptation to changing conditions

    This has led us to posit that investment in such emergent digital networks could enable health systems to maintain necessary specialization while fostering crucial connections across domains.

    This is obviously critical to respond to the systems-level complexity of climate change impacts on health.

    World Bank findingTGLF model strategic fit
    Scale of impact (4.1-5.2B cases, 14.5-15.6M deaths by 2050)TGLF’s digital network model demonstrates scalability, already connecting over 60,000 health practitioners across 137 countries. More significantly, the model’s effectiveness increases with scale – as more practitioners join, the network’s ability to identify emerging threats and disseminate effective responses improves. Network analysis shows that larger scale enables more diverse inputs and faster adaptation, suggesting this approach could help health systems respond to the massive scale of projected impacts.
    Economic consequences ($8.6-20.8T by 2050)TGLF’s model offers remarkable cost-effectiveness through its networked learning structure. Rather than requiring massive new investments in parallel systems, it leverages existing health system resources while enabling and accelerating both learning and action. The model demonstrates how digital infrastructure can maximize return on investment – practitioners implement solutions using existing resources, with 82% reporting ability to continue without external support. This suggests potential for significant cost savings while building system resilience.
    Geographic inequities (71% SSA, 18% SA)TGLF’s network already demonstrates strongest presence precisely where the World Bank identifies greatest need – 70% of participants work in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This concentration is not coincidental; the model’s digital infrastructure and peer learning approach prove particularly effective in resource-constrained settings. The network enables rapid sharing of context-appropriate solutions between regions facing similar challenges, while maintaining sensitivity to local conditions.
    Need for systemic interventionThe network transcends traditional program boundaries through what organizational theorists call “structured emergence” – practitioners naturally form cross-program connections based on shared challenges. When a malaria control officer observes changing disease patterns due to climate shifts, the network enables rapid sharing with colleagues in water safety, nutrition, and primary care. This organic integration emerges through peer learning rather than requiring new coordination mechanisms.
    Urgency of investmentTGLF’s model offers an immediately scalable approach that builds on existing health system capabilities. Rather than waiting years to develop new infrastructure, the network can rapidly expand to connect more practitioners and regions. Evidence shows 7x acceleration in implementation of new approaches compared to conventional means of technical assistance, suggesting potential for rapid, sustainable strengthening of health system resilience.
    Global coordination needWhile enabling global connection, the network maintains strong local grounding through its emphasis on locally-led action and contextual adaptation. Government health workers comprise over 50% of participants, creating what scholars term “embedded transformation” – change emerging through existing structures rather than imposed from outside. This enables coordinated response while respecting local health system authority.
    System transformationThe model demonstrates how digital networks can fundamentally transform how health systems operate without requiring complete restructuring. By enabling rapid knowledge flow across traditional boundaries, supporting emergence of new coordination patterns, and fostering system-wide learning, it shows how transformation can emerge through enhanced connection rather than structural overhaul. Analysis reveals development of new capabilities in surveillance, response, and adaptation through networked learning.

    Reference

    Uribe, J.P., Rabie, T., 2024. The Cost of Inaction: Quantifying the Impact of Climate Change on Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. The World Bank, Washington, D.C. https://doi.org/10.1596/42419

    Image: The Geneva Learning Foundation Collection © 2024

  • You are not alone: Health workers are sharing how they protected their communities when extreme weather hit

    You are not alone: Health workers are sharing how they protected their communities when extreme weather hit

    Today, The Geneva Learning Foundation launched a new set of “Teach to Reach Questions” focused on how health workers protect community health during extreme weather events. This initiative comes at a crucial time, as world leaders at COP29 discuss climate change’s mounting impacts on health.

    As climate change intensifies extreme weather events worldwide, health workers are often the first to respond when disasters strike their communities. Their experiences – whether facing floods, droughts, heatwaves, or storms – contain vital lessons that could help others prepare for and respond to similar challenges.

    Read the eyewitness report: From community to planet: Health professionals on the frontlines of climate change, Online. The Geneva Learning Foundation. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10204660

    Why ask health workers about floods, droughts, and heatwaves?

    “Traditional surveys often ask for general information or statistics,” explains Charlotte Mbuh of The Geneva Learning Foundation. “Teach to Reach Questions are different. We ask health workers to share specific moments – a time when they had to act quickly during a flood, or how they kept services running during a drought. These stories of extreme weather events reveal not just what happened, but how people actually solved problems on the ground.”

    The questions cover six key scenarios:

    1. Disease outbreaks during floods
    2. Health impacts of drought
    3. Care delivery during heatwaves
    4. Mental health support before, during, and after
    5. Maintaining healthcare access
    6. Quick action and local solutions to protect health

    Each scenario includes detailed prompts that help health workers recall and share the specifics of their experience: What exactly did they do? Who helped? What obstacles did they face? How did they know their actions made a difference?

    Strengthening local action: From individual experience to collective learning to protect community health

    What makes Teach to Reach Questions unique is not just how they are asked, but what happens next. Every experience of an extreme weather event shared becomes part of a larger learning process that benefits the entire community.

    “We don’t just collect these experiences – we give them back,” says Reda Sadki, President of The Geneva Learning Foundation. “Whether someone shares their own story or not, they gain access to the complete collection of experiences of extreme weather events. This creates a virtuous cycle of peer learning, where solutions discovered in one community can help another on the other side of the world.”

    The process unfolds in four phases:

    1. Experience Collection: Health workers share their stories through structured questions ahead of the live Teach to Reach event
    2. Live Event: During the Teach to Reach live event, Contributors who shared their experience are invited to do so in plenary sessions. Everyone can listen in – and join one-to-one networking sessions to learn from the experiences of colleagues from all over the world.
    3. Analysis and Synthesis: After the live event, the Foundation’s Insights team works with the Teach to Reach community to identify patterns, innovations, and key lessons
    4. Knowledge Sharing: Insights are returned to the community through comprehensive collections of experiences, thematic insights reports, and Insights Live sessions

    Building momentum for Teach to Reach 11

    These questions are part of the lead-up to Teach to Reach 11, scheduled for December 5-6, 2024. The experiences shared will inform discussions among the 23,000+ registered participants from over 70 countries.

    “But the learning starts now,” emphasizes Mbuh. “Health workers who request their invitation today can immediately begin sharing and learning from peers. The earlier they join, the more they can benefit from this collective knowledge exchange.”

    Why protecting community health against extreme weather events matters

    As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, the expertise of health workers who have already faced these challenges becomes increasingly valuable.

    “These aren’t just stories – they’re a vital source of knowledge for protecting community health in a changing climate,” says Sadki. “By sharing them widely, we help ensure that health workers everywhere are better prepared when extreme weather strikes their communities.”

    Health professionals interested in participating can request their invitation.

    Listen to the Teach to Reach podcast:

    Is your organisation interested in learning from health workers? Learn more about becoming a Teach to Reach partner.

    Image: The Geneva Learning Foundation Collection © 2024

  • World Health Summit: to rebuild trust in global health, invest in health workers as community leaders

    World Health Summit: to rebuild trust in global health, invest in health workers as community leaders

    Discussions at the World Health Summit in Berlin this week have rightly emphasized the role of health workers, especially those directly serving local communities.

    Health workers stand at the intersection of climate change and community health.

    They are first-hand eyewitnesses and the first line of defense against the impacts of climate on health.

    There is real horror in the climate impacts on health they describe.

    Read the Health Worker Eyewitness reports “Climate change and health: Health workers on climate, community, and the urgent need for action“ and “On the frontline of climate change and health: A health worker eyewitness report”.

    There is also real hope in the local solutions and strategies they are already implementing to help communities survive such impacts, most often without support from their government or from the global community.

    There is no alternative to the health workforce as the ones most likely to drive effective adaptation strategies and build trust when it comes to climate change and health.

    Their unique value stems from several key factors:

    1. Firsthand experience: Health workers witness the direct and indirect health impacts of climate change daily, providing valuable insights.
    2. Community trust: As respected figures in their communities, health workers can effectively communicate climate-health risks and promote adaptive behaviors.
    3. Local knowledge: Their deep understanding of local contexts allows for the development of tailored, culturally appropriate solutions.
    4. Existing infrastructure: Health workers represent an established network that is already having to respond to climate change.

    As Dr. Maria Neira from the World Health Organization emphasized at Teach to Reach 10 in June 2024: “We need to use our voice, the power of the voice of health, to convince governments to do three things. First, accelerate the transition to clean sources of energy to stop this disaster. Second, to accelerate the transition to sustainable food systems. And third, to accelerate the transition to better planning of urban areas…” Learn more about Teach to Reach.

    However, current global health investments often overlook the potential of health workers.

    Furthermore, there is a tendency to see them as instruments to implement national plans and policies and recipients for knowledge about climate change that they are assumed to be lacking.

    This fails to recognize the potential of health workers to lead, not just execute plans, in the face of climate change impacts on health.

    It also fails to recognize the significance and value of local knowledge and experience that health workers hold because they are there every day.

    A shift in focus could make health workers the most obvious “best buy” for governments and international funders.

    By investing in health workers as agents of change, we can leverage an existing, trusted workforce to rapidly scale up adaptation efforts and rebuild trust in global health initiatives.

    One innovative model developed by The Geneva Learning Foundation has shown promise in this area, connecting over 60,000 health practitioners across 137 countries and reaching frontline government staff working for health in conflict zones and other challenging contexts.

    This approach not only maximizes the impact of climate-health investments but also strengthens health systems overall, creating a win-win scenario for global health and climate resilience.

    Image: The Geneva Learning Foundation Collection © 2024

  • Klepac and colleagues‘ scoping review of climate change, malaria and neglected tropical diseases: what about the epistemic significance of health worker knowledge?

    Klepac and colleagues‘ scoping review of climate change, malaria and neglected tropical diseases: what about the epistemic significance of health worker knowledge?

    By Luchuo E. Bain and Reda Sadki

    The scoping review by Klepac et al. provides a comprehensive overview of codified academic knowledge about the complex interplay between climate change and a wide range of infectious diseases, including malaria and 20 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

    The review synthesized findings from 511 papers published between 2010 and 2023, revealing that the vast majority of studies focused on malaria, dengue, chikungunya, and leishmaniasis, while other NTDs were relatively understudied.

    The geographical distribution of studies also varied, with malaria studies concentrated in Africa, Brazil, China, and India, and dengue and chikungunya studies more prevalent in Australia, China, India, Europe, and the USA.

    One of the most striking findings of the review is the potential for climate change to have profound and varied effects on the distribution and transmission of malaria and NTDs, with impacts likely to vary by disease, location, and time.

    However, the authors also highlight the uncertainty surrounding the overall global impact due to the complexity of the interactions and the limitations of current predictive models.

    This underscores the need for more comprehensive, collaborative, and standardized modeling efforts to better understand the direct and indirect effects of climate change on these diseases.

    Another significant insight from the review is the relative lack of attention given to climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in the existing literature.

    Only 34% of the included papers considered mitigation strategies, and a mere 5% addressed adaptation strategies.

    Could we imagine future mapping to recognize the value of new mechanisms for and actors of knowledge production that do not meet the conventional criteria for what currently counts as valid knowledge?

    What might be the return on going at least one step further beyond questioning our own underlying assumptions about ‘how science is done’ to actually supporting and investing in innovative indigenous- and community-led, co-created initiatives?

    This gap highlights the urgent need for more research on how to effectively reduce the impact of climate change on malaria and NTDs, particularly in areas with the highest disease burdens and the populations most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

    While the review emphasizes the need for more research to fill these evidence gaps, this begs the question of the resources and time required to fill them.

    This is where there is likely to be value in the experiential data from health workers on the frontlines to provide insights into the mechanisms of climate change impacts on health and effective response strategies.

    The upcoming Teach to Reach 10 event (background | registration) , a massive open peer learning platform that brings together health professionals from around the world to network and learn from each other’s experiences, offers a unique opportunity to engage thousands of health workers in a dialogue that can deepen our understanding of how climate change is affecting the health of local communities.

    Experiential data has been, historically, dismissed as ‘anecdotal’ evidence at best.

    The value and significance of what you know because you are there every day, serving the health of your community, has been ignored.

    The expertise and knowledge of frontline health workers are often overlooked or undervalued in global health decision-making processes, despite their critical role in delivering health services and their deep understanding of local contexts and challenges.

    Yes, the importance of incorporating the insights and experiences of health workers in the global health discourse cannot be overstated.

    As Abimbola and Pai (2020) argue, the decolonization of global health requires a shift towards valuing and amplifying the voices of those who have been historically marginalized and excluded from the dominant narratives.

    This concept, known as epistemic justice, recognizes that knowledge is not solely the domain of academic experts but is also held by those with lived experiences and practical expertise (Fricker, 2007).

    Epistemic injustice, as defined by Fricker (2007), occurs when an individual is wronged in their capacity as a knower, either through testimonial injustice (when a speaker’s credibility is undervalued due to prejudice) or hermeneutical injustice (when there is a gap in collective understanding that disadvantages certain groups).

    In the context of global health, epistemic injustice often manifests in the marginalization of knowledge held by communities and health workers in low- and middle-income countries, as well as the dominance of Western biomedical paradigms over local ways of knowing (Bhakuni & Abimbola, 2021).

    By engaging health workers from around the world in peer learning and knowledge sharing, Teach to Reach can help to challenge the epistemic injustice that has long plagued global health research and practice.

    By providing a platform for health workers to share their experiences and insights, Teach to Reach – alongside many other initiatives focused on listening to and learning from communities – can contribute to ensuring that the fight against malaria and NTDs in the face of climate change is informed not only by rigorous scientific evidence but also by the practical wisdom of those on the ground.

    That is only if global partners are willing to challenge their own assumptions, and take the time to listen and learn.

    Moreover, the decolonization of global health requires a shift towards more equitable and inclusive forms of knowledge production and dissemination.

    This involves challenging the historical legacies of colonialism and racism that have shaped the global health field, as well as the power imbalances that continue to privilege certain forms of knowledge over others (Büyüm et al., 2020).

    By fostering a dialogue between health workers and global partners, Teach to Reach can help to bridge the gap between research and practice, ensuring that the latest scientific findings are effectively translated into actionable strategies that are grounded in local realities and responsive to the needs of those most affected by climate change and infectious diseases.

    The value of experiential data from health workers in filling evidence gaps and informing effective response strategies cannot be understated.

    As the Klepac review highlights, there is a paucity of research on the impacts of climate change on many NTDs and the effectiveness of mitigation and adaptation strategies.

    While more rigorous scientific studies are undoubtedly needed, waiting years or decades for this evidence to accumulate before taking action is not a viable option given the urgency of the climate crisis and its devastating impacts on health.

    Health workers’ firsthand observations and experiences can provide valuable insights into the complex mechanisms through which climate change is affecting the distribution and transmission of malaria and NTDs, as well as the effectiveness of different intervention strategies in real-world settings.

    This type of contextual knowledge is essential for developing locally tailored solutions that account for the unique social, cultural, and environmental factors that shape disease dynamics in different communities.

    Furthermore, engaging health workers as active partners in research and decision-making processes can help to ensure that the solutions developed are not only scientifically sound but also feasible, acceptable, and sustainable in practice.

    The involvement of frontline health workers in the co-creation of knowledge and interventions can lead to more effective, equitable, and context-specific solutions that are responsive to the needs and priorities of local communities.

    References

    Abimbola, S., & Pai, M. (2020). Will global health survive its decolonisation? The Lancet, 396(10263), 1627-1628. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32417-X

    Bhakuni, H., & Abimbola, S. (2021). Epistemic injustice in academic global health. The Lancet Global Health, 9(10), e1465-e1470. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(21)00301-6

    Büyüm, A. M., Kenney, C., Koris, A., Mkumba, L., & Raveendran, Y. (2020). Decolonising global health: If not now, when? BMJ Global Health, 5(8), e003394. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003394

    Fricker, M. (2007). Epistemic injustice: Power and the ethics of knowing. Oxford University Press.

    Klepac, P., et al., 2024. Climate change, malaria and neglected tropical diseases: a scoping review. Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. https://doi.org/10.1093/trstmh/trae026

  • How will we turn a climate change and health resolution at the World Health Assembly into local action?

    How will we turn a climate change and health resolution at the World Health Assembly into local action?

    This video was prepared by the World Health Organization with voices of health workers speaking at the Special Event “From community to planet” hosted by The Geneva Learning Foundation.

    The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) has developed a new model that could help address the urgent challenge of climate change impacts on health by empowering and connecting health workers who serve communities on the receiving end of those impacts.

    This model leverages TGLF’s track record of facilitating large-scale peer learning networks to generate locally-grounded evidence, elevate community voices, and drive policy change.

    A key strength of TGLF’s approach is its ability to rapidly connect diverse networks of health workers across geographic and health system boundaries.

    For example, in March 2020, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, TGLF worked with a group of 600 of its alumni – primarily government staff working in local communities of Africa, Asia, and Latin America – to develop the Ideas Engine.

    Within two weeks, the Ideas Engine had connected over 6,000 immunization staff from 90 countries to share strategies for maintaining essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Within just 10 days, participants contributed 1,235 ideas and practices.

    They then developed and implemented recovery plans, learning from and supporting each other. 

    Within three months, over a third of participants reported successfully implementing their plans, informed by these crowdsourced insights.

    This illustrates how peer learning – a tenet of TGLF’s model – can facilitate and accelerate problem-solving.

    The Ideas Engine became a core component of TGLF’s model for turning knowledge into action, results, and impact.

    TGLF has also demonstrated the model’s effectiveness in informing global health policy initiatives.

    Working with the Wellcome Trust, TGLF mobilized – in the first year – over 8,000 health professionals from 99 low- and middle-income countries to take ownership of the goals of the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) strategy.

    This participatory approach generated over 500,000 data points in just four months, providing IA2030 stakeholders with valuable, contextually-grounded evidence to inform decision-making.

    Fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptation among health workers lays the groundwork for a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable approach to global health in the face of accelerating climate change.

    Applying this model to the climate and health nexus, TGLF supported 4,700 health workers from 68 countries in 2023 to share observations of changes in climate and health in the communities they serve.

    Over 1,200 observations highlighted the diverse and severe consequences already being experienced.

    See what we learned: Investing in the health workforce is vital to tackle climate change: A new report shares insights from over 1,200 on the frontline

    This demonstrates the feasibility of rapidly generating a new kind of evidence base on local climate-health realities.

    Furthermore, if we assume that each health worker could reduce the climate-related health burden for those they serve by a modest five percent, a million health workers connected to and learning from each other could make a significant dent in climate-attributable disease and death. 

    This illustrates the model’s potential to achieve population-level impact, beyond sharing knowledge and strengthening capacity.

    At Teach to Reach 10 on 20-21 June 2024, over 20,000 health workers will be sharing experience of their responses to the impacts of climate change on health. Learn more…

    It is important to note that TGLF’s approach differs from models that work through health professional associations in several key ways.

    First, it directly engages health workers across all levels of the health system, not just those in leadership positions.

    Second, it focuses on peer learning and locally-led action, rather than top-down dissemination of information.

    Third, it leverages digital technologies to connect health workers across geographies and hierarchies, enabling rapid exchange of insights and innovations at the point of need.

    Finally, it embeds participatory and citizen science methods to ensure solutions are grounded in community needs and that everyone can contribute to climate and health science.

    TGLF’s model offers a complementary pathway to address current global priorities of generating novel evidence on climate-health impacts in ways that are directly relevant and useful to communities facing them.

    This model can help fill critical evidence gaps, identify locally-adapted solutions, and build momentum for transformative change.

    TGLF’s track record in mobilizing collective intelligence to drive impact in global health crises suggest transferability to the climate and health agenda.

    As the world grapples with the accelerating health threats posed by climate change, investing in health workers as agents of resilience has never been more urgent or important.

  • Climate change and health: Health workers on climate, community, and the urgent need for action

    Climate change and health: Health workers on climate, community, and the urgent need for action

    As world leaders gathered for the COP28 climate conference, the Geneva Learning Foundation called for the insights of health workers on the frontlines of climate and health to be heard amidst the global dialogue.

    Ahead of Teach to Reach 10, a new eyewitness report analyses 219 new insights shared by 122 health professionals – primarily those working in local communities across Africa, Asia and Latin America – to two critical questions: How is climate change affecting the health of the communities you serve right now? And what actions must world leaders take to help you protect the people in your care?

    (Teach to Reach is a regular peer learning event. The tenth edition on 20-21 June 2024 is expected to gather over 20,000 community-based health workers to share experience of climate change impacts on health. Request your invitation here.)

    Their answers paint a picture of the accelerating health crisis unfolding in the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions. Community nurses, doctors, midwives and public health officers detail how volatile weather patterns are driving up malnutrition, infectious disease, mental illness, and more – while simultaneously battering health systems and blocking patient access to care.

    Yet woven throughout are also threads of resilience, ingenuity and hope. Health advocates are not just passively observing the impacts of climate change, but actively responding – often with scarce resources. From spearheading tree-planting initiatives to strengthening infectious disease surveillance to promoting climate literacy, they are innovating locally-tailored solutions.

    Importantly, respondents emphasize that climate impacts cannot be viewed in isolation, but rather as one facet of the interlocking crises of environmental destruction, poverty, and health inequity. Their insights make clear that climate action and community health are two sides of the same coin – and that neither will be achieved without deep investment in local health workforces and systems.

    Rooted in direct lived experience and charged with moral urgency, these frontline voices offer a stirring reminder that climate change is not some distant specter, but a life-and-death challenge already at the doorsteps of the global poor. As this new collection of insights implores, it’s high time their perspectives moved from the margins to the center of the climate debate.

    As Charlotte Mbuh of The Geneva Learning Foundation explains: “We hope that the chorus of voices will grow to strengthen the case for  why and how investment in human resources for health is likely to be a ‘best buy’ for community-focused efforts to build the climate resilience of public health systems.”

    Jones, I., Mbuh, C., Sadki, R., & Steed, I. (2024). Climate change and health: Health workers on climate, community, and the urgent need for action (1.0). The Geneva Learning Foundation. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11194918

  • Climate change and health: perspectives from developing countries

    Climate change and health: perspectives from developing countries

    Today, the Geneva Learning Foundation’s Charlotte Mbuh delivered a scientific presentation titled “On the frontline of climate change and health: A health worker eyewitness report” at the University of Hamburg’s Online Expert Seminar on Climate Change and Health: Perspectives from Developing Countries.

    Mbuh shared insights from a report based on observations from frontline health workers on the impact of climate change on health in their communities.

    Investing in the health workforce is vital to tackle climate change: A new report shares insights from over 1,200 on the frontline

    Climate change is a threat to the health of the communities we serve: health workers speak out at COP28

    The Geneva Learning Foundation, a Swiss non-profit, facilitated a special event “From community to planet: Health professionals on the frontlines of climate change” on 28 July 2023, engaging 4,700 health practitioners from 68 countries who shared 1,260 observations.

    “93% of respondents believed that there was a link between climate change and health, and they reported a direct local experience of a wide range of climatic and environmental impacts,” Mbuh stated.

    The most commonly reported impacts were on farming and farmland, the distribution of disease-carrying insects, and urban areas becoming hotter.

    Health impacts linked to these climatic and environmental changes included increased malnutrition and/or undernutrition, increased waterborne diseases, and changes to the incidence and distribution of vector-borne diseases.

    Mbuh emphasized that these impacts were particularly prevalent in smaller communities or mid-sized towns.

    Mbuh highlighted the unique role of frontline health workers as trusted advisors to their communities: “Frontline health workers are trusted advisors of the communities that they serve, and they have unique insights to local realities and are strategically positioned to bring about change,” she said.

    The Geneva Learning Foundation aims to leverage its digitally-enabled peer learning network of health workers to drive change across different levels of the health system and geographical boundaries.

    Mbuh concluded : “These experiences demonstrate the importance of community engagement, sustainable practices, and support from relevant stakeholders in addressing the climate health nexus and building resilience in the face of a changing climate.”

    The presentation underscored the urgent need to invest in frontline health workers at the local level to build resilience against the impacts of climate change on health, particularly in vulnerable communities in developing countries.

    The event was organized by the International Expert Centre of Climate Change and Health (IECCCH) at the Research and Transfer Centre Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, in collaboration with the European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR), the UK Consortium on Sustainability Research (UK-CSR), and the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP).

    Photo: The Geneva Learning Foundation Collection © 2024

  • Making the invisible visible: storytelling the health impacts of climate change

    Making the invisible visible: storytelling the health impacts of climate change

    On March 18, 2024, the Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) hosted a workshop bringing together 553 health workers from 55 countries with TGLF’s First Fellow of Photography and award-winning photographer Chris de Bode. Watch the workshop in English and in French. Poor connectivity? Get the audio-only podcast.

    The dialogue focused on exploring the power of health workers who are there every day to communicate the impacts of climate change on the health of those they serve. Learn more…

    The Geneva Learning Foundation’s exploration of visual storytelling began, two years ago, with a simple yet powerful call to action for World Immunization Week: “Would you like to share a photo of your daily work, the work that you do every day?” Over 1,000 photos were shared within two weeks. “We repeated this in 2023, to show that it is people who make #VaccinesWork”, explains Charlotte Mbuh, the Foundation’s deputy director. Watch the 2022 and 2023 events, as well as the inauguration of the First International Photography Exhibition of the Movement for Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030).

    In July 2023, over 4,700 health professionals – primarily government workers from 68 low and middle-income countries – responded to the call to share their firsthand observations of the impacts of climate change on health. Watch the special event “From community to planet: Health professionals on the frontlines of climate change“… Get the insights report…

    That is when Chris de Bode, who has spent decades documenting global health stories, expressed his excitement to flip the script:

    “Over the last two years, we received so many pictures about your daily work. By asking you a new question, a different angle on what you work on, we can go a little bit deeper in what you actually do. Since you are on the front line everywhere in the world, it’s super interesting to create a collection of images to show the world and also show each other within the community.”

    What would Taphurother Mutange, a community health worker from Kenya, want to show in the photos she will take?

    “What I want to show to people is the floods. In my community where I work, the floods were too much. Water went into a house where there was a 12-year-old girl sleeping. The water carried the girl out, and up to date, as I’m talking, she has never been seen.”

    She linked this devastation directly to health, adding, “So climate change goes together with health, because after the rains, the children, pregnant mothers, and even older people get sick, and you might see there’s not enough drugs in the facility. So we might even go on losing some lives.”

    Brigitte Meugang, a health professional from Yaoundé, Cameroon, captured the essence of why visual storytelling matters:

    “I’m attending this event because I believe that with a picture, you can say a thousand words.

    And with a beautiful picture, you can learn a lot.

    You can understand a lot.

    And you can understand really the story just by looking at a picture, usually.”

    Chris guided participants on the psychology and ethics of photography, the power of light, and how to create compelling visual narratives.

    He challenged the idea that photos must be candid to be authentic.

    “A picture is always subjective.

    It’s your position as a photographer who decides which picture you take and what you want to tell with the image.

    When I take portraits of people, I stage, and I always stage.”

    Participants grappled with this in the context of their health work.

    Emmanuel Musa, from Nigeria, highlighted the tension:

    “Professionally, we’ve been asked to take pictures, action pictures, but not to have a kind of arranged, organized setting…

    Because normally we look at pictures that are actionable, that probably funders can see, probably supervisors can see what’s happening in the field, instead of organizing a group picture, you set as if we’re in a studio.”

    Aimée N’genda, a health worker from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), also emphasized the importance of consent and the risk of exploitation, especially in urban settings.

    “Based on our experience, you need to ask for a written consent that you should keep, because you’ve got some people that will take advantage of it and think that when you take pictures of their children, they think you make money out of this, without paying them any fees.”

    Despite the challenges, Chris affirmed the unique power health workers have as visual storytellers.

    “You guys and ladies, you are there on the spot.

    You’re there every day.

    You have a large, large advantage on us, professional photographers who have to go there.”

    Participants left energized to apply what they learned.

    François Desiré, for example, declared, “I’m going to share pictures of mobile clinics that integrate immunization and nutrition.”

    The dialogue equipped health workers to harness visual storytelling to communicate vital stories of how climate change impacts health in their communities, sparking change through the power of a single image.

    The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) is actively seeking a donor or sponsor to support visual storytelling by health professionals.

    Version française: Raconter la santé en image: un atelier photo avec Chris de Bode pour Teach to Reach 10

    This story was written by generative AI, based on a word-for-word transcript of the workshop.

    Image: Screen shot of the chat during the workshop “Visual storytelling for health” on 18 March 2024.