This week, pressing issues in global health, including climate action, are highlighted during two multi-day events taking place simultaneously in New York City. Climate Week NYC and the United Nations General Assembly High-level Week (UNGA) are bringing together leaders from across sectors and the globe for productive discussions to foster collaboration and action. The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) is actively engaged in these conversations, with Victor J. Dzau, NAM President; Kimber Bogard, Deputy Executive Officer and Jonathan B. Perlin MD and Donna J. Perlin MD Director of NAM Programs; Chris Hanley, Director of the Grand Challenge on Climate Change, Human Health, and Equity; and NAM expert volunteers joining in several key events throughout the week.
The concurrent events offer a critical platform to identify solutions and develop innovative strategies to advance action on a broad range of health topics. Climate Week NYC, hosted by Climate Group, is the largest annual climate event of its kind and features over 600 activities, while the 79th session of UNGA marks a crucial milestone in accelerating progress toward the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
“Health is a throughline in so many of the most pressing global issues of today, from climate change to equity,” said Dzau. “The health care sector is making admirable strides in developing and implementing solutions that have impact in our everyday lives, yet there is more to do together. My colleagues and I look forward to the critical discussions across this week’s events.”
Highlighted NAM Engagements this Week
Dzau, Bogard, and Hanley will join several events this week focused on topics like the health implications of climate change, women’s health, vaccines, and more. Selected events on each day are listed below:
September 22
Bogard joined the “Partners for Impact: A Climate and Health Roundtable,” hosted by Grand Challenges Canada. The event brought together climate and health funders, partners, and experts to discuss partnerships aimed at advancing global health in the face of climate change.
September 23
Dzau will join Bechara Choucair (Kaiser Permanente) and Shyam Bishen (World Economic Forum) to discuss concrete actions to address climate change for health systems, communities, policymakers, and corporations at “Connecting Climate Change and Health: Closing the Action Gap.” Later, he will speak alongside Crystal Decuir (SWLA Center for Health Services), Paulette Frank (Johnson & Johnson), Nathaniel Matthews-Trigg (Americares), and Eleni Myrivili (UN-Habitat and Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center) for the session, “Heatwaves and Health,” exploring a multi-sectoral approach to ensure community-based health care adaptation. In the evening, Dzau will participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting of the Champions of the Global Alliance for Women’s Health, which is part of the WEF’s schedule of Sustainable Development Impact Meetings. Dzau serves as a Board Member of the Alliance.
Hanley will participate in the roundtable “AI for all: How can we equitably deploy AI-powered adaptation solutions?” During the event, cross-sector leaders will discuss how to ensure that AI tools are used effectively and equitably to address climate change at the community level.
September 24
Dzau will join the Regionalized Vaccine Manufacturing Collaborative (RVMC) for an event focused on best practices to enable different regions to create tailored and sustainable vaccine manufacturing initiatives. The RVMC is an initiative of the NAM, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the WEF. Dzau is a co-founder of the RVMC and serves as Co-Chair. Later, he will speak at the “Climate and Health: The New Narrative” session alongside Stefanie Friedhoff (Brown University School of Public Health), Shyla Raghav (Time Magazine), and Jeremy McQueen (Black Iris Project) to discuss innovative initiatives to decrease health sector emissions.
Hanley will participate in a roundtable “Lung Health: A Climate Conversation,” hosted by AstraZeneca. He will join Mohit Manrao (AstraZeneca Foundation), Courtney Granville (GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer), and Dan Wygal (AstraZeneca) to discuss how the impacts of climate change affect lung health and strategies to identify solutions.
September 25
Dzau will speak at the session “Climate Rx: Preventive Healthcare and Decarbonization” hosted by the New York Times and AstraZeneca. The event will focus on preventive health care in the context of the climate crisis.
Learn more about all the health-focused events at Climate Week NYC.
The NAM’s Work on Global Health Issues
The NAM is committed to advancing science, informing policy, and inspiring action to achieve human health, equity, and well-being. The NAM’s work spans a broad portfolio of programs developed to advance science, inform policy, and inspire action on critical topics in global health like climate change, extending the human health span, advancing women’s health, and more.
Efforts include the Grand Challenge on Climate Change, Human Health, and Equity—a multi-year global initiative to improve and protect human health, well-being, and equity by working to transform systems that both contribute to and are impacted by climate change—and the Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge—a worldwide movement to improve physical, mental, and social well-being for people as they age. The NAM’s work around women’s health and reproductive health care also feature a global focus. In 2022, the NAM convened a working group to address obstacles to reproductive health care access and quality and supported its transition to the National Academies Standing Committee on Reproductive Health, Equity, and Society. The committee, chaired by NAM Council Vice Chair Claire Brindis, offers opportunities for collaboration and evidence-based decision making.
The NAM’s global health roles include initiatives focused on vaccine manufacturing and pandemic preparedness. The Regionalized Vaccine Manufacturing Collaborative (RVMC) is co-chaired by Dzau and convenes industry and public sector leaders with the goal of increasing vaccine access. Dzau sits on the steering committee of the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat (IPPS), which organizes the 100 Days Mission, an effort to ensure that safe, effective vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics are available within 100 days of the onset of future pandemic threats. As part of this effort, Dzau co-chairs the IPPS Science and Technology Expert Group that provides technical input and assurance to the 100 Days Mission.
