Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) has joined Connecting Climate Minds, a global initiative funded by Wellcome Trust, that brings together expertise across research, policy, design, and lived experience from across the globe. The aim of the project is to develop a research and action agenda of global and regional community convenors dedicated to connecting climate change and mental health.

Climate change and increasing temperatures have been shown to increase levels of allergens and pollutants present in the air, leading to worsened air quality. Emerging evidence suggests that poor air quality can negatively impact mental health, in particular depression and anxiety and findings in a February 2022 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), revealed that rapidly increasing climate change poses a rising threat to mental health and psychosocial well-being; from emotional distress to anxiety, depression, grief, and suicidal behavior.

HGPI will be involved in the Connecting Climate Minds project as a Regional Co-Convenor (RCC) to support Reginal Convener St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine (SLMCCM) for Eastern and South-Eastern Asia and collaborate with other co-convenors of diverse geographies and disciplines to cultivate a connected, supported, and engaged community of practice on a global scale to create an actionable research agenda.

The outcome of this project is to:

• Develop a global research agenda
• Create work will be grounded in the needs of people with lived experience of mental health challenges in the context of climate change
• Deliver a series of regional and global dialogues
• Share our work and gather resources on an online platform

For more information on the activities of the Connecting Climate Minds, please click here and for more information on the regional community convenors, please click here.

■ About St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine
St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine (SLMCCM) is one of the 58 medical schools in the Philippines. Established in 1994 as the medical school of the St. Luke’s Medical Center, it offers a 5-year Curriculum leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD). SLMCCM is duly accredited by the Commission on Higher Education. The Planetary and Global Health Program (PGHP) of the SLMCCM introduced innovative educational opportunities; implemented externally funded research projects on a diverse array of planetary health issues; and meaningfully engaged with local, national, and international governmental institutions, aiming to become a leading center of planetary and global health education, research, and translation in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia over the next decade.