It was during the final day of an international course that seeks to equip federal, state and local health system planners with the tools and knowledge to tackle climate change.

Health Secretary Andrea Piff spoke this morning at the Pan American Course on Resilience in Health Systems, co-organised by HealthCanada, the Pan American Health Organization and the Inter American Institute for Global Change Research (Pan American). Institute for Global Change Research) and Global Consortium on Climate Health and Education. During his presentation, Bev spoke about the regional health policies and actions being promoted through the Health Portfolio under the One Health vision, which integrates climate change into the current agenda for action.

On the last day of the course, the topic “Communicating Effectively on Climate Change Risks to the Public and Interested Parties” was touched upon. In this context, the head of the regional health file said: “From the Neuquén County Department of Health, we have been working for many years on the link between health and climate change.”

“In this way, we seek to be present with these issues throughout the province, working in a consensual manner with local levels and with communities, because we realize that climate change and health must be worked on by as many actors as possible,” said the Minister of Health.

In this sense, Bev explained that the framework for all the ministry’s actions is the 2019-2023 regional health plan, which in turn contains the cross-axis “comprehensive well-being and environmental health”, with a specific course of action. This is “Health in the Territory”.

Among the main concepts, he highlighted “One Health” and expressed: “Disease prevention and control must be approached from a comprehensive and multidisciplinary perspective.”

Similarly, Bev referred to the actions implemented by the health group in relation to climate change and described the transition of the Neuquén County Department of Health building to a sustainable building, the sustainable design of Norpatagonia Hospital and the projection. It is one of the most sustainable and sustainable health centers mainly linked to the region.

During her presentation, the official also highlighted the province’s participation in the preparedness project, which aims to increase the capacities of the health sector and strengthen coordination in climate action in Argentina at the national and sub-national levels (Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor and PAHO/Argentina) in order to harmonize Sewage system with low greenhouse gas emissions. In this regard, Bev spoke about the working groups that have been formed at the ministerial and regional levels to address this issue.

Other actions prioritized by the Head of the Health Profile include the holding of a Regional Training Workshop on Climate, Environment and Health for the Americas held this year in San Martín de los Andes and the continuity of the Municipal Health Program in seeking collective and participatory solutions to problems affecting the health of communities.

Finally, under actions related to communication and climate change, Bev highlighted the construction of a visual identity by the area that allowed the consolidation and visualization of the actions developed around this topic, as well as the strategies put in place that favor its diffusion, adhesion and reinforcement.

About the course

The Inter-American Course on Resilience for Health Systems is designed to prepare federal, state, and local health system planners, as well as hospital administrators and other health sector professionals, with the tools and knowledge to address climate change.

This activity was jointly organized by HealthCanada, the Pan American Health Organization, the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, and the Global Consortium for Climate Health and Education). Plus there are contributions from ministries of health and the environment and civil society communities dedicated to climate and health practice across the Americas.