A group of UPF researchers has collaborated with a multidisciplinary international team to publish a new article entitled Decision-Support Tools to Build Climate Resilience Against Emerging Infectious Diseases in Europe and Beyond.

Published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health - Europe as part of its work within the IDAlert project, the article presents a transformative approach to tackle the emergence and transmission of climate-sensitive infectious diseases in Europe, informing cross-sectoral policy while improving the climate resilience of health systems to infectious disease risks.

John Palmer: “The tools we propose in this article are becoming increasingly important, unfortunately, due to governments’ failure to move quickly enough to reduce global carbon emissions”

Among the authors linked to UPF are professor John Palmer, principal investigator of the IDAlert project at the University, and doctoral students Karl Broome, Berj Dekramanjian and Otis Johnson, all members of the Sociodemography Research Group at the Department of Political and Social Sciences.

According to John Palmer, “the tools we propose in this article are becoming increasingly important, unfortunately, due to governments’ failure to move quickly enough to reduce global carbon emissions”.

Berj Dekramanjian highlights “the importance, in real-world situations, of demonstrating the successful participation of citizens through technology in the surveillance of vector-borne diseases, providing the possibility and potential to augment traditional methods with an additional dimension that takes advantage of the power of collective action”.

Meanwhile, Otis Johnson states that “IDAlert provides a comprehensive, data-based strategy to reduce the spread of vector-borne infectious diseases through an effective and streamlined framework. This approach is not limited to the European health agencies, but is flexible enough to be applied to any country facing increased disease transmission as a result of climate change”.

A collaborative approach to support decision-making 

Climate change is one of several drivers of recurrent outbreaks and the expansion of the geographic range of infectious diseases in Europe. This article published in The Lancet proposes a collaborative approach by developing policy-relevant indicators and decision-support tools.

These tools are designed to comprehensively monitor and anticipate the risks of climate-induced diseases in a variety of settings, including environmental hazards, exposure patterns, and vulnerability factors. With a strong focus on the interconnectedness of animals, humans, and the environment, the framework promises a holistic approach to addressing this multifaceted challenge.

Joacim Rocklöv: ”By examining the nexus between animals, humans and the environment, we are unravelling a more complete understanding of the dynamics of diseases, a prerequisite for more timely and effective preparedness for outbreaks”

The lead author and coordinator of the IDAlert project, Joacim Rocklöv, highlighted: “Our decision-support tools offer a multidimensional perspective that transcends traditional compartments. By examining the nexus between animals, humans and the environment, we unlocking a more complete understanding of the dynamics of diseases, a pre-requisite for more timely and effective outbreak preparedness”.

The heart of this novel framework lies in the co-production of early warning and response systems with stakeholders and end-users, as well as tailored tools to assess the costs and benefits associated with climate adaptation and mitigation strategies across diverse sectors. By fostering greater resilience within regional and local health systems, the framework aims to strengthen Europe's capacity to respond to health crises, even in the face of changing environmental conditions.

As part of its approach, the IDAlert project is integrating multi-level engagement, innovative methodologies, and novel data streams, and tap into locally generated intelligence and empirical insights through case studies. This strategy empowers experts to quantify the effects of climate-induced disease threats in areas undergoing rapid urban transformation and contending with heterogeneous health risks. The ultimate aspiration is to bridge the gap between knowledge and action, delivering an unparalleled integrated One Health- Climate Risk framework that will empower policymakers, healthcare professionals, and communities to mitigate risks and bolster resilience.

IDAlert, a project within the framework of the Horizon Europe programme

IDAlert – Infectious Disease decision-support tools and Alert systems to build climate Resilience to emerging health Threats (IDAlert), launched officially on 1 June 2022, is a 9.18 million euro project set to run for five years. The project is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe programme (grant number 101057554).

The IDAlert project consortium includes 19 organizations from Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, Greece, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom and Bangladesh, with world experts in a wide range of disciplines, including zoonosis, infectious disease epidemiology, social sciences, artificial intelligence and environment, economics, and environmental and climate sciences. In addition to UPF, other participating institutions in Spain include the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Barcelona Public Health Agency (ASPB), and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC).

Reference word: “Joacim Rocklöv, Jan C. Semenza, Shouro Dasgupta, Elizabet J.Z. Robinson, Ahmed Abd El Wahed, Tilly Alcayna et al. (setembre 2023), “Decision-support tools to build climate resilience against emergint infectious diseases in Europe and beyond”, The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, vol. 32, 100731

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100701