‘Climate change is making some areas of Europe more suitable for various infectious diseases, including dengue fever, Vibrio infections and West Nile fever.’
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is making £10.7 million available for projects supporting the government’s healthy ageing agenda.
The projects, which begin during March 2021 and will run for 36 months, have several aims. These aims include addressing cognitive health inequality by investigating the impacts and possible mechanistic pathways of urban environments on healthy ageing and cognitive health, as well as designing, testing, delivering and evaluating digital resources to facilitate programmes for ‘health connectivity’ in older age.
The projects will with work business and industry partners to deliver evidence needed to develop better products and services for the ageing population. Currently one in twelve people in the UK are over 75, by 2040 this will rise to one in seven. A third of children born now are expected to live to 100.
Research Director, Professor Judith Phillips, Deputy Principal (Research) at the University of Sterling, Scotland and Professor of Gerontology said; ‘The seven successful projects include innovative social, design and behavioural research which addresses key challenges of how we enable older people to live healthily for longer, and narrow the gap in the experiences of the richest and poorest in society.’
Meanwhile, a briefing developed jointly by Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change and the European Environment Agency (EEA) has highlighted the key health impacts from climate change. It also cites opportunities to reduce climate-related health risks through adaptation policies aligned with mitigation actions.
The briefing: Responding to the health risks of climate change in Europe, notes that while all EU Member States have strategies or plans for adaptation, actions addressing the climate threats to health lag behind and could be supported by more knowledge on effective solutions. ‘Climate change is making some areas of Europe more suitable for various infectious diseases, including dengue fever, Vibrio infections and West Nile fever,’ the report highlights.
The briefing has been published on the new European Climate and Health Observatory, an online platform providing access to a wide range of resources on climate change and health.
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