Gulf Research Program Partners with CDC Foundation to Prepare Communities to Meet Health Challenges Posed by Climate Change

WASHINGTON - The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced today an award of $1.8 million to the CDC Foundation to support targeted efforts that will help prepare Gulf communities to meet health challenges posed by climate change and related disasters. The CDC Foundation is an independent nonprofit created by Congress to mobilize philanthropic and private-sector partnerships to help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention save and improve lives.

Climate change and related disasters have wide-ranging health implications, including increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease; injuries and premature deaths caused by extreme weather events; an increase in exposure to water- and vector-borne diseases; and threats to food security, mental health, and well-being.

The CDC Foundation's GRP-funded activities will help mitigate these impacts by pursuing adaptation efforts to protect the health of individuals, their families, and their communities. These efforts include supporting the planning and development of a Gulf-focused climate and health cohort; developing a peer mentorship and knowledge-sharing program to facilitate the transfer of knowledge for climate adaptation, preparedness, and resilience plans; and funding communities to implement their own climate and health projects.

This grant is targeted toward investments at the local level, enabling the CDC Foundation to help close the historic gap in local resilience by funding community-based organizations. In addition to funding, the CDC Foundation will offer community-based organizations additional capacity-building assistance through technical support, training, materials development, and partnership building via its network of public health partners.

"This award leverages the CDC Foundation's diverse network of community-based organizations and public health partners to make targeted change in a region that faces immediate health challenges posed by climate change," said Dan Burger, senior program manager of GRP's Gulf Health and Resilience Board. "It is critical to promote collaboration among Gulf Coast communities and health professionals in ways that allow them to better address the health challenges that they are witnessing firsthand and reduce the risk of future climate-driven disasters."

GRP is also matching funding from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies for similar CDC Foundation programming in Midwest communities that represent the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

The National Academies' Gulf Research Program is an independent, science-based program founded in 2013 as part of legal settlements with the companies involved in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. It seeks to enhance offshore energy system safety and protect human health and the environment by catalyzing advances in science, practice, and capacity to generate long-term benefits for the Gulf of Mexico region and the nation. The program has $500 million for use over 30 years to fund grants, fellowships, and other activities in the areas of research and development, education and training, and monitoring and synthesis.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, engineering, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.

Contact:

Pete Nelson, Director of Public Engagement and Communications
Gulf Research Program
email [email protected]

Recent News

1. Load More...