Online training course: Climate Change and Health

The WHO Academy with the WHO Climate Change and Health Unit are developing a comprehensive online, interactive training programme on Climate Change and Health. The course comprises six modules of which an early-release version of Module 1 is currently available. The remainder of the modules are expected to be released during 2024. A WHO Academy Award of Completion for each module will be provided.

This course aims to enhance awareness of WHO tools and resources, foster an in-depth comprehension of the intricate linkages between climate change and health, and build technical capacity to assess context-specific health risks and vulnerabilities. Participants will also gain expertise in developing mitigation and adaptation policies and interventions in health (and health-determining) sectors, ultimately safeguarding populations from the health risks associated with climate change.

What will you learn?

Learners will understand the interlinkages between climate change and health and the opportunities for addressing the health risks of climate change, building climate resilient and low carbon health systems, and promoting the health co-benefits of climate action, and be able to communicate this new knowledge to others.

Specifically, this course intends to:

1. describe the impacts of climate change on populations’ health, health systems and facilities;
2. provide a robust introduction to climate change and health representation in global climate processes;
3. describe the WHO approach to climate change and health and introduce the process for building climate resilient and low carbon health systems and
4. introduce a process for building climate resilient and low carbon health systems.

Learning Experience

The course is self-paced. Through a combination of engaging multi-media components, thought-provoking, scenario-based multiple-choice questions, reflection, exploratory tasks and gamified elements, participants explore complex climate change and health concepts, navigate relevant resources and practice evidence-based decision-making. The interactive tasks incorporate pre-recorded videos, audio narration, readings and guides. Rich feedback is provided to help participants understand their strengths and areas for improvement.

Module 1 is mandatory and must be completed first before registering for any of the elective modules 2-6 (2024 release). These can be completed in any order. The modules are:

1. Introduction to climate change and health
2. Assessing health vulnerability to climate change and co-benefits of mitigation.
3. Health in national climate change processes and plans.
4. Accessing climate finance for climate change and health.
5. Climate resilient and environmentally sustainable of health care facilities
6. Climate-informed health surveillance and early warning systems.
   • Component A Climate services for health.
   • Component B Epidemiology: the basics.
   • Component C Modelling to associate weather/climate risks to health.
   • Component D Climate-informed decision support tools for public health.
   • Component E Implementing climate-informed decision support tools.

Intended users

This course is primarily designed for representatives from national Ministries of Health; WHO staff who are responsible for climate change and health and/or environmental health staff in health determining sectors at National level, including Ministries of Environment, WASH, Disaster Reduction, Food and Agriculture, Meteorological services, etc.; health workers and/or facility managers at national, sub-national and local levels; academic institutions, groups, and individuals seeking a deeper understanding of the interlinkages between climate change and health.