Interview series – Discover the PLANET4HEALTH project
Stefano Campostrini, University Ca’ Foscari of Venice, PLANET4HEALTH Co-Coordinator & Suzana Blesic, PLANET4HEALTH Co-Coordinator, Institute for Medical Research, Belgrade
Can you introduce the project and its progression over the past 18 months?
PLANET4HEALTH is a project that focuses on the utilization of the interdisciplinary framework that encompasses climate and environmental approaches, technology platforms and tools development, social, political, and economic sciences approaches and policy adoption studies, and indicators development, communication for and co-creation with end users, on four distinct case studies. The case studies of the project are: 1) vector (sand fly and mosquito) borne diseases in the Iberian Peninsula, 2) air pollution and health in South Africa, 3) food safety and PFAS pollution in Central Europe, and 4) mental wellbeing in environmental and climate context.
The project team is currently working on realization of activities related mainly to Case Studies (CSs) 1 and 2, vector borne diseases in the Iberian Peninsula and ill health effects of air pollution in South Africa. Within those, part of the research and innovation in CS1 is solely focused on the animal health, in its assessment of canine leishmaniasis in Portugal and Spain. For that purpose, the project will develop and Early Warning System (EWS) by the end of the year, primarily aimed for use by veterinarians and dog owners. In CS2, the project’s results will focus on vulnerability under exposure to air pollution, particularly in children under the age of 5.
What do you think the Cluster can bring to your project?
Our project has a privilege of co-coordinating the Cluster activities in the past one and a half years, together with the project GoGreen Next in year 1 of its work, and now with the project SPRINGS, in Year 2. We are also co-coordinating the work of WG1, with project SPRINGS, and will start co-coordination of WG4, with SPRINGS and TULIP. We are bringing to the Cluster all the expertise of our multidisciplinary team(s), from climate and health researchers, through One Health professionals, technology platforms, tools, and climate services developers, social, political and economic sciences, to expertise in law and communications. We also bring in a keen interest in multiplication, broadening of reach, or better definition and understanding of trans-sectoral work, better uptake, and broader impact of actions toward improved health of planet, animals, and humans.
How do you see the cluster’s work supporting EU policy actions?
Given the peculiar moment in Europe and globally, we believe the projects, particularly working in the cluster activities, could help in better focusing on what “can works” in policies targeted to planetary health, at local, regional, national and international level. This beside the other important and now even more relevant task to provide evidence for action. If these are already available for the “big picture” of climate change and major effects on planetary health, further insights on specific fields, differently addressed by the cluster’s projects, can be more useful to better develop European policies, as well as to favor global actions on specific issues/field of intervention.
Learn more about PLANET4HEALTH: https://planet4health.eu
