October 4, 2022

The SALURBAL team coordinated by the UHC was awarded additional funding to leverage the SALURBAL data resource and multidisciplinary team to study the connections between climate change and health in cities across the Latin America. The extension, funded by the Wellcome Trust, will include an assessment of existing knowledge, research gaps, and policy questions surrounding climate and health across the region, as well as the expansion of a data resource to increase our understanding of the health and health equity impacts of climate change in urban areas. Additional capacity building and outreach efforts will engage existing and new partners to support coalition building between scientists, NGOs, and governments working in this area.

Since 2017, Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health and partners throughout Latin America and in the United States have been working together to study how urban environments and urban policies impact the health of city residents as part of the Urban Health in Latin America (or SALURBAL) Project, the main initiative of the LAC-Urban Health Network. As the health impacts of climate change become increasingly urgent and apparent, SALURBAL team members have shifted focus toward understanding and addressing these challenges.

“Latin America has a very large urban population at risk of extreme temperatures and many other adverse impacts of climate change on health,” says Ana Diez Roux. A recent SALURBAL publication has highlight the impact of heat on mortality in the region. Urban populations in the region are also concentrated in areas at high risk of other natural disasters, such as flooding and landslides. SALURBAL is well positioned to generate scientific knowledge regarding the health impacts of climate change. Project findings supported by the extension funding will inform urban policies and interventions that help cities prepare for and respond to change.

Learn more about SALURBAL.