Making Odisha's Healthcare Systems Climate Resilient

Pranay Lal of the Forum for Health Systems Design and Transformation in India will develop mechanisms for the Indian state of Odisha to manage heat stress and ensure the uninterrupted functioning of public health infrastructure during extreme weather events including heatwaves and floods. They will analyze historical data for climate and its impacts on human health, integrating data not only for temperature but also for humidity to generate heat risk profiles of two districts in Odisha. These profiles will help guide when, where, and how to implement public health interventions during heatwaves. They will also use data modeling approaches to assess the risks to healthcare facilities from severe weather under different climate-change scenarios. This will support health officials and other stakeholders in these two districts to develop a set of protective strategies.