Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education

Community Capacity Building

The GCCHE collaborates with regional leaders to strengthen community capacity for responding to climate-related health challenges. Through these partnerships, the Consortium is able to design, deliver, and evaluate culturally relevant and regionally-specific initiatives across the world. These programs—ranging from two-day workshops to multi-month train-the-trainer initiatives—equip community members with the skills and confidence they need to address current and emerging climate-related health threats. 

These initiatives fill a critical gap in climate and health education. From our research, we see that while many educational initiatives and programs exist to train health professionals, there is a dearth of initiatives designed to train and engage community members in concert with health professionals. This discrepancy persists despite mounting evidence that fostering collaboration between these groups is vital for improving communication and strengthening community-level responses to health threats. Our programs emphasize building sustainable, jointly beneficial initiatives, particularly in resource-limited settings, where collaborations they support can build long-term community resilience.

The GCCHE is engaged in several projects training diverse groups including community health workers, women, community leaders, and at-risk youth, among others. Click on the links below to learn more about individual initiatives.

These initiatives aim to build lasting community resilience and empower local leadership in the face of climate change.

If you are interested in discussing a community capacity initiative with the GCCHE, please contact Maggie O’Donnell (she/her) mo3040@columbia.edu.