From policy to practice, equipping South Africa’s health workforce for climate action through multisectoral collaboration
1
School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
2
Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Cape Town, South Africa
3
South African Medical Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa
4
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A3537
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Climate change and environmental degradation are intensifying public health risks, thereby placing a high demand on frontline health workers. Despite their key role in responding to these challenges, clinicians, environmental health officers, and community healthcare workers are often under-prepared to navigate the complex climate-environment-health nexus; highlighting the urgent need for targeted training. Traditional academic training frequently lacks grounding in implementation realities; creating a critical knowledge-to-action gap. In response, a South African initiative brought together academia (University of the Western Cape School of Public Health, climate and health experts (South African Medical Research Council), and government (Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning and the City of Cape Town Department of Health) to co-design and pilot an integrated climate and health short course.
METHODS:
The curriculum was co-designed through a series of consultative meetings with partners between March and September 2025. The resulting short course was organized as a 5-day face- to -face programme, combining academic inputs, experts and practical insights from government partners, and field visits informed by their implementation experience.
RESULTS:
Government partners alongside climate and health experts and academics, contributed as policy actors, and implementers. They co-facilitated sessions, presented implementation-focused case studies, and engaged directly with participants’ questions, complementing academic contents with operational and policy realities. Leveraging their networks, government partners facilitated field visits to active adaptation and mitigation initiatives, enabling real-time engagement with ongoing programmes. Participants highlighted the value of interacting directly with implementers, strengthening practical understanding of climate policy to practice linkages and local feasibility.
CONCLUSIONS:
This initiative offers a targeted, actionable strategy for building climate-resilient health workforces. Its co-design methodology presents a replicable framework for translating policy into field-level competencies. By removing institutional silos, it provides a model for an inclusive approach that ensures local needs and inform curriculum design.
Climate change and environmental degradation are intensifying public health risks, thereby placing a high demand on frontline health workers. Despite their key role in responding to these challenges, clinicians, environmental health officers, and community healthcare workers are often under-prepared to navigate the complex climate-environment-health nexus; highlighting the urgent need for targeted training. Traditional academic training frequently lacks grounding in implementation realities; creating a critical knowledge-to-action gap. In response, a South African initiative brought together academia (University of the Western Cape School of Public Health, climate and health experts (South African Medical Research Council), and government (Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning and the City of Cape Town Department of Health) to co-design and pilot an integrated climate and health short course.
METHODS:
The curriculum was co-designed through a series of consultative meetings with partners between March and September 2025. The resulting short course was organized as a 5-day face- to -face programme, combining academic inputs, experts and practical insights from government partners, and field visits informed by their implementation experience.
RESULTS:
Government partners alongside climate and health experts and academics, contributed as policy actors, and implementers. They co-facilitated sessions, presented implementation-focused case studies, and engaged directly with participants’ questions, complementing academic contents with operational and policy realities. Leveraging their networks, government partners facilitated field visits to active adaptation and mitigation initiatives, enabling real-time engagement with ongoing programmes. Participants highlighted the value of interacting directly with implementers, strengthening practical understanding of climate policy to practice linkages and local feasibility.
CONCLUSIONS:
This initiative offers a targeted, actionable strategy for building climate-resilient health workforces. Its co-design methodology presents a replicable framework for translating policy into field-level competencies. By removing institutional silos, it provides a model for an inclusive approach that ensures local needs and inform curriculum design.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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