Public Health Talks on Climate Change and Health

MCI professor Siegfried Walch and experts discuss the correlation between climate change and health

The Public Health Forum, under the auspices of the ÖGPH, organized the second Public Health Talk on April 12, 2023, focusing on climate Change and health. MCI professor Siegfried Walch, member of the Public Health Forum Board moderated, and Florian Stigler, founder of the Public Health Forum, opened the discussion. Experts Andrea Schmidt from the Competence Center Climate and Health, Gesundheit Österreich GmbH, Johanna Schauer-Berg, Health for Future Austria, researcher at the PMU Salzburg, and Maike Voss, Centre for Planetary Health Policy (CPHP), a think tank founded by KLUG (Climate and Health) in Berlin, discussed issues related to their work on solutions in the policy field of climate and health.

In particular, the discussion focused on how climate change and health are linked, the impact of climate change on health and health systems, and what measures are in the pipeline to adapt to climate change. Particularly in view of the upcoming summer heat waves, both the experts and the audience unanimously emphasized the importance of awareness raising and targeted measures to protect the population. In order to reach the decision makers in politics, administration and economy, it is of utmost urgency to take professional communication measures.

The audience actively participate in the lively discussion. The experts and the audience agreed that future Public Health Talks should also be used to work out concrete problems. With this collaboration and the first Public Health Talk, the ÖGPH and the Public Health Forum were able to underline the importance of the Public Health community in Austria and stimulate important discussions on current social issues.

Public Health Forum

The Austrian Society for Public Health (ÖGPH) and the Public Health Forum have reached an agreement to formalize collaboration between the two organizations and strengthen the Public Health community in Austria. The Public Health Forum will become part of the ÖGPH and will continue to be organized by those participating in the Forum. The newly established Public Health Talks are an activity of the ÖGPH organized by the Forum Board.