Introduction
Climate change is no longer a distant threat—it is a present and growing challenge, especially for public health in vulnerable regions like Africa. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and shifting disease patterns are placing unprecedented strain on health systems and communities already grappling with limited resources and high disease burdens.
This short 8-hour course on Climate Change and Health is designed for healthcare professionals and others working in the health sector who want to understand and respond to the complex relationship between climate change and health. Through four interactive modules, participants will explore the science behind climate change, its direct and indirect health impacts, and how it effects access to healthcare. The course is delivered through engaging online lessons, videos, polls, and discussion boards, fostering both individual learning and peer interaction. Assessment is conducted via short quizzes with automatic feedback, and a cumulative score of 70% is required to earn a certificate of completion and CPD points.
Who Should Enroll
Healthcare professionals, researchers and people working in the health and non-health fields with an interest in the intersection between climate change and health.
Course Content
This course is delivered 100% online, allowing participants to work through the material at their own pace over a flexible three-month period.
The course is structured into four modules, each delivered through a combination of lessons, videos, and curated resources, with opportunities for interactive engagement via polls and discussion boards.
- Introduction to Climate Change and Health: This topic intends to provide a broad overview of climate change and its associated health risks, and the role of the health sector in international and national efforts to manage climate change.
- Direct Impacts of Climate Change on Health: In this topic, we’ll explore how air pollution, heat, and flooding affect human health.
- Indirect Impacts of Climate Change on Health: In this topic, we’ll examine how climate change affects health in less direct—but equally serious—ways, including food security and drought, water and vector-borne diseases, mental health, displacement and conflict.
- Climate Change and Access to Health Care: In this topic, we’ll examine how climate change affects access to essential health services—especially for vulnerable populations.
Learning is assessed via short quizzes with automatic feedback. A cumulative average of 70% is required to qualify for a certificate of completion.
Meet the Expert
Dr Gloria Maimela is a seasoned Medical Doctor with over 20+ years of experience in the medical field. She is a renowned Public Health Specialist with expertise in the intersection of Climate Change and Health and in Health Systems Strengthening (HSS). She provides oversight on key FPD clusters including Research, Health Systems Strengthening (HSS), Conferencing and the recently established Climate Change and Health unit at FPD, focusing largely on capacity building and HSS.
Prior to her appoitnment at FPD, Dr Maimela led the Climate and Health Directorate at the Wits RHI Research Institute where she led climate and health research studies in collaboration with international partners, including WHO. These studies are implemented in selected public healthcare facilities in Tshwane district and are funded by the European Union (HIGH Horizons) and the Welcome Trust in partnership with multiple stakeholders including WHO. The studies focus on the impact of heat on the health of pregnant women, infants and healthcare workers. Dr Maimela remains a co-Investigator in the studies. Dr Maimela serves on the South African Climate Change and Health steering committee led by the National Department of Health (NDoH)'s Climate Change, Vector Control and Air Quality Cluster, providing technical support alongside various climate and health technical experts. Dr Maimela is one of the contributing authors of the Climate Change and Health Chapter (5) of the South African District Health Barometer 2023/2024: Health Systems Trust. She also chairs the Climate and Health Africa Network for Collaboration and Engagement (CHANCE), which promotes climate and health policy advancement in the African region through knowledge translation.