Contact: Mireia Figueras Alsius
The LIFE RESYSTAL project will address gaps in the European health systems’ climate resilience. This project will support improved climate vulnerability assessment of health systems as well as an improved understanding of the interdependencies between different infrastructures, e.g. transport, energy networks, telecommunications, and clinical services, to ensure a more secure and resilient health service provision. The project will also support investment decisions that consider and encourage climate change adaptation.
Background
Climate change strikes at the very core of the healthcare sector’s mission to keep people healthy. Individual hospitals and entire healthcare systems are affected operationally, financially, and structurally by the rising frequency of extreme weather events. Even distant climate events can affect the health of local communities, e.g. smoke from wildfires can create significant and concentrated air pollution causing wide-reaching health impacts.
Our health is intrinsically linked to the environments we live in, climate change therefore directly impacts the health of patients and communities. As climate change worsens, more and more people will face the health consequences of wildfires, hurricanes, and floods. Forced migration from failed crops, droughts, and the resulting political unrest will also undermine human health, which must be at the heart of our climate change adaptation policies.
Objectives
Supported by the EU's LIFE Programme, LIFE RESYSTAL’s main objective is to develop a suite of resources that aims to increase the capacity and improve the resilience of the European healthcare system and related dependent critical infrastructures.
To achieve this, the project will:
- Set the basis for a European network committed to the climate adaption of the European health sector.
- Provide science support for implementing Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) measures applicable to healthcare infrastructure.
- Demonstrate healthcare infrastructure adaptation in diverse climate conditions
- Facilitate and promote healthcare climate resilience.
This project will develop, demonstrate, evaluate, and disseminate a framework for climate-resilient health systems with nine pilots in hospitals and regional health systems.
Project information
Timeline: September 2021 - August 2025 (4 years)
Project partners:
- HCWH Europe
- National Center for Scientific Research Demokritos
- ACTERRA
- CRISISSOFT
- The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge - UCAM
- RINA Consulting S.p.A. - RINA-C
- Centre Hospitalier de Millau
- General Hospital of Nikaia, Pireaus
- Policlinico di Bari
- SERVIZO GALEGO DE SAUDE
Funders
HCWH Europe gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the European Commission (EC)’s LIFE programme. The project partners listed above are solely responsible for the content of this project and related materials. The views expressed do not reflect the official views of the EC.
