By Sue-Ann Wayow
APART from climate change, mental health is another global challenge that the world population faces.
To tackle the combined challenges, a global transformative project involving the University of the West Indies (UWI) is about to be launched.
The project is to develop an inclusive and actionable research agenda for the emerging field of climate change and mental health.
In a statement, the organisers of the project said, “This project will develop an inclusive and actionable research agenda for the emerging field of climate change and mental health.”
With a launch carded for Tuesday, the global project team comprises of Imperial College London, the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the Climate Mental Health Network, SustyVibes (Nigeria), Force of Nature (UK), St Luke’s Medical Centre, UWI and Claretian University (Nigeria).
UWI’s senior lecturer Dr Sandeep Maharaj and lecturer Dr Natalie Greaves form part of the global project. The Latin American and Caribbean Centre of the university has also applied to be the hub for leading the dialogues in the Caribbean in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
The release stated, “Attention on the mental health impacts of the climate crisis has grown rapidly in the past year alone, yet the climate and mental health space remains fragmented. There is rapid progress in some places while critical gaps remain in others. Over the next year, we want to work with a diverse global community to create an aligned vision and connected community of practice for research at the climate change and mental health nexus.”
It also stated, “This is a critical time for the multi-disciplinary climate and mental health community to come together to form an aligned research agenda that meets the needs of people experiencing these impacts and which translates into real policy change and action on the ground.
Persons can register for the event at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/climate-change-and-mental-health-catalysing-a-global-research-community-tickets-580248678417
