Conferencing and capacity-building – Dr Brama Koné shares his work

July 22nd, 2016

It’s been a busy and productive period for Dr Brama Koné, Principal Investigator of Project E. From 23 May to 3 June 2016, he attended a short course on Public Health and Disasters at the Institute of Public Health at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Here, he was able to share experiences on climate change, disasters, and impacts on health and health systems, as well as to learn from other participants and experts. This first course was followed by a second at the same institution called “Climate Change and Health: Impacts and Adaptations’, which ran from 18 to 29 July and focused on how to measure the impacts of climate change and implement efficient adaptation strategies. Dr Koné was invited to give a one-hour presentation to other trainees on the challenges of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in the context of climate change.

These courses have proved highly beneficial in enhancing the planning and monitoring of ongoing project activities. But, in between the two, Dr Koné also attended the International Research Institute for Climate and Society’s first Climate and Health Colloquium and Pre-Colloquium, organised in partnership with WHO-TDR. The Colloquium and Pre-Colloquium both provided opportunities to present the project’s ongoing activities, main achievements and different perspectives. During the Colloquium, the challenge of accessing climate and health data in developing countries – mainly in Côte d’Ivoire, a country that has faced a decade of sociopolitical unrest from 2000 to 2010 – was highlighted.

Following the Colloquium, from 12 June to 16 July, Dr Koné visited the Department of Global Health of the University of Washington in Seattle where he made contact with potential partners and sought out new project opportunities. During this time, the beginning of a project draft was formulated.