Medical Schools in Europe to Train on Climate Change-Related Illnesses

A network of universities across Europe has launched an initiative to train medical students on climate change-related illnesses as well as provide education on more sustainable healthcare.

The initiative includes 25 universities that have formed the European Network on Climate & Health Education (ENCHE), which will incorporate climate change education into the existing curriculum. The goal is to better prepare students to treat humans facing health disparities linked to climate change as well as to improve the sustainability of the healthcare system.

“From the spread of infectious diseases to increasingly deadly heatwaves, the health impacts of climate change are becoming ever more dangerous,” Iain McInnes, co-chair of ENCHE and vice principal and Head of College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow, said in a statement. “As educators, it is our responsibility to ensure that the next generation of doctors, health professionals and medical leaders have the skills they need to face these challenges and can provide patients with the best care possible.”

The network will be led by the University of Glasgow and supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), and universities from Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and the UK will be involved in ENCHE.

Other health organizations, part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force, will provide additional support to ENCHE. The network will serve as a regional hub for the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE) at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, with GCCHE providing collaboration and expert support for the initiative.

ENCHE has a goal to train 10,000 or more medical students on treating climate change health impacts in the first three years of the program. According to the University of Glasgow, there is not a consistent curriculum in medical schools that teaches on the links between climate change and health impacts.

This training could help save many more lives, as human health becomes increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. According to the WHO, about 99% of humans globally are exposed to air quality below WHO standards, while more than 7 million people die from air pollution-related health impacts. Rising heat is another concern, with heat-related deaths expected to triple by 2050 in a business-as-usual scenario. 

Further, the WHO has estimated that climate change impacts could cause an additional 250,000 deaths per year from 2030 to 2050.

“The health impacts of climate change are not hypothetical threats in the future; they are right here, and right now,” said Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO. “WHO is supporting countries to build climate-resilient and climate-friendly health systems, which includes equipping health workers with the competencies to address this major public health challenge. I welcome the public-private collaboration that has helped galvanize this new educational network, and I hope it will inspire action in other countries and regions around the world.”

The team behind ENCHE is calling on interested universities across Europe to join the network to further the mission to offer climate training for medical students and strengthen the resiliency of healthcare systems to provide better patient care in the face of climate change.

“It is my hope that many more institutions will join this network and our mission to protect and improve human health against the backdrop of our changing environment,” McInnes said.