Wellcome announced a new funding appeal for climate-sensitive infectious disease research last month. In order to better integrate research into policy, the U.K.-based organization has set aside £10 million ($13.4 million) towards the creation of tools.
So that evidence-based public health decisions are made, Wellcome is sponsoring early warning systems for climate-sensitive infectious illnesses. The request for proposals emphasizes the role of technology in combating climate-related infectious illnesses and other health consequences.
Wellcome’s new strategy
The program aligns with Wellcome’s new 2020 strategy to encourage improvements in mental health, climate change, and infectious illnesses.
According to Devex, Physician Bilal Mateen collaborated with Wellcome’s head of climate impacts, Madeleine Thomson, on digital technology research. Climate-sensitive infectious disease concerns require improved data, methodology, and tools, Mateen realized.
It also stated that the researchers identified 37 named tools. No surprise, considering what they know about the impact of temperature and rainfall on vector-borne illness transmission. Despite the influence of changing climate on diseases ranging from influenza to cholera to salmonellosis, there were few tools for respiratory, foodborne, and waterborne diseases, and none for soilborne diseases.
The tools are available in nations or regions where certain infectious diseases are prevalent, not likely to spread. In the future, Mateen wishes to see these technologies created with end-users in mind from the start.
About Wellcome
Wellcome is a £38.2 billion investment portfolio that supports a global charity organization that is politically and financially autonomous. Grants, advocacy initiatives, and partnerships are all part of their strategy to discover solutions to today’s most pressing health issues.
According to the foundation’s website, using the Covid-19 pandemic as a case study, Wellcome demonstrates how they collaborate with academics, philanthropists, corporations, governments, civic society, and the public around the world to promote science’s role in addressing health concerns.
Wellcome’s scientific research is used to help people and organizations in their efforts to improve their health. Life, health, and wellbeing research are supported by the foundation and find solutions to mental illness, infectious disease, and climate change.
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