Applications open for UWI CARIFORUM Climate Change and Health Leaders Fellowship Programme

Bridgetown, Barbados, 2 February 2021 (PAHO/WHO) - Young to mid-career professionals from CARIFOURUM countries who are interested in Empowering Caribbean Action for Climate and Health, are invited to apply to the first cohort of the Climate Change and Health Leaders training fellowship program.

Applicants should be between 25 to 45 years and preferably be currently employed in the public health, health care, agricultural health or ecosystem (environmental) health sectors and have experience working in climate science. They should be a resident of one of the project countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.

The first cohort of the 12-month fellowship will run from June 2021 to May 2022. All activities related to the fellowship will be fully compensated and fellows who successfully complete the program will receive an honorarium of US$5000. The training will prepare the fellows to be able to return to their country with the skills and knowledge to support the process of implementing change, empowering communities and supporting youth engagement.

The project builds upon the success of the “One Health One Caribbean One Love” project led by The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine Campus from 2014 to 2017. “We realise that climate change is with us, and we are very much on the front line, and we’re seeing the changes,” observes Chris Oura, the team lead of The UWI component of the project and Professor in Veterinary Virology at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the St. Augustine Campus. “We plan to develop and train a cadre of strong, effective leaders from 16 Caribbean countries to fully understand the links between Climate Change and Health and champion the One Health approach, so they are equipped with the skills and knowledge to empower community action, to engage youth, to implement change in their countries, and to turn plans and policies into action,” he said.

The fellows programme is part of the European Union (EU) funded 5-year project aimed at Strengthening Climate Resilient Health Systems in the Caribbean. The project is being implemented by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and brings together five main sub-regional partners (including the UWI). It is aimed at improving climate and health systems, as well as human capacities, in the Caribbean.

Applications for the fellowship should be emailed to CCH.Fellowship@sta.uwi.edu and copied to chris.oura@sta.uwi.edu by 21 February, 2021. Download an application form here.

For more information on the fellowship visit https://sta.uwi.edu/cchsrd/empowering-caribbean-action-climate-and-health-each

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) works with the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of its population. Founded in 1902, it is the world’s oldest international public health agency. It serves as the Regional Office of WHO for the Americas and is the specialized health agency of the Inter-American system.

The PAHO Subregional Program is responsible for providing subregional technical cooperation and to strengthen PAHO’s engagement with the Caribbean Subregional integration mechanisms, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and its various bodies and organs; and to build synergistic partnerships with the subregional institutions such as the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the University of the West Indies (UWI), among others. PAHO’s subregional technical cooperation specifically focuses on public health issues which would benefit from economies of scale and for which agreement on proposed collective responses and actions would produce a far greater impact rather than individual country responses. The Subregional Program also plays a role in coordinating among the different PAHO country offices.