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ENHanCE - ERA Net Health and climate in Europe

LogoThe University of Liverpool (including members of the NCZR) is coordinating a project entitled ENHanCE.  This study is designed to asses the effects of future climate change on the spread of disease through Europe and the consequent impacts on human health and well-being.

ENHanCE is an Integrated Project funded by the British body (NERC (Natural Environment Research Council), the French agency Afsset (Agence francaise de securite sanitaire de le'environment et du travail) and the Dutch minitry VROM (Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment), through the ERA-ENVHEALTH Programme.

Climate change is widely considered to be a major threat to human health and well-being via its effects on infectious diseases.  But how realistic is this threat?  Will most diseases respond to climate change, or just a few?  Will there be a net increase in disease burden or might as many diseases decline in impact as increase?  Is it possible that the diseases that matter to us most are the least likely to respond to climate change?

Answering these questions will help provide the knowledge-base required for policymakers to take the necessary action to combat climate change, and this is what the ENHanCE project is all about.

The key aims of the project include:

  1. Identification of all pathogens of humans and animals that occur in western Europe and have known climatic or environmental drivers.
  2. Development of a decision support system for identifying short-listed pathogens of highest impact on human health and well-being.
  3. Assessment of the projected climate and environmental change in the region.
  4. Risk assessment modelling of the response of high impact human and animal diseases to future climate change.

 

For more details, see the ENHanCE website