The GEOHealth Hub for Eastern Africa: Contributions and Lessons Learned
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Date
2021-06-16
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Abstract
Abstract Externalities, such as air pollution and increased occupational hazards, resulting from
global trends in climate change, rapid industrialization, and rapidly increasing populations are raising
global concerns about the associated health risks. The Global Environmental and Occupational Health
Hub for Eastern Africa was established to address some of these problems at national and regional
levels through focused training and applied research that would yield evidence supporting policies
and investments to mitigate risks of increasing environmental threats throughout the Eastern African
region. Emphasis has been placed on air pollution, a leading risk factor for global mortality, accounting
for over 7 million premature deaths or 8.7% of the 2017 global mortality burden. Despite the enormous
disease burden that air pollution causes, global investment in air pollution monitoring and research
capacity building in low-middle and middle-income countries have been inadequate. This study outlines
the activities the Hub has undertaken in planning for and carrying out its initial capacity building and
building its primary research programs and identifies central lessons that can inform other large global
research partnerships.
Plain Language Summary Air pollution and increased occupational hazards resulting
from climate change and rapid industrialization are damaging health. The Global Environmental and
Occupational Health (GEOHealth) Hub for Eastern Africa was established to address some of these
problems at national and regional levels through training and applied research. This paper describes the
activities the Hub has undertaken during its first five years and identifies central lessons that can inform
other large global research partnerships.
Description
Keywords
Air pollution, occupational hazards, climate change, rapid industrialization, GEOHealth Hub for Eastern Africa
Citation
Wipfli, H., Kumie, A., Atuyambe, L., Oguge, O., Rugigana, E., Zacharias, K., et al. (2021). The GEOHealth Hub for eastern Africa: Contributions and lessons learned. GeoHealth, 5, e2021GH000406. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GH000406