Africa Climate and Health Educator-Training Program
Program Overview:
Climate change is one of the most critical health challenges of the 21st century, and its impacts are especially significant in Africa, where vulnerabilities include limited healthcare resources, changing disease patterns, and frequent extreme weather events. To address these challenges, the Africa Climate and Health Educator-Training Program will build on the success of the Africa Climate and Health Responder Course, equipping health education leaders with the skills, knowledge, and mentorship needed to create region-specific climate-health education programs.
The program will use the ECHO model of virtual, case-based learning, which connects local practitioners with expert mentors, fostering peer-to-peer collaboration and knowledge sharing. By the end of the program, participants will have developed their own climate-health responder education programs, strengthening local health systems and community resilience across the continent.
Program Objectives:
- Capacity Building: Enhance the ability of course alumni to design, implement, and evaluate climate and health education programs tailored to their local contexts.
- Knowledge Exchange: Facilitate a peer-to-peer learning environment for the exchange of climate-health adaptation strategies and innovations.
- Mentorship and Support: Provide a platform for alumni to receive guidance from climate-health experts and practitioners.
- Scaling Impact: Strengthen the development of climate-health responder programs across Africa.
- Create Local Ownership: Ensure solutions are culturally appropriate by incorporating local knowledge and engaging communities
Target Audience:
- Alumni of the Africa Climate and Health Responder Course: Health professionals, climate scientists, educators, and policymakers actively working on or planning climate-health education initiatives.
- Mentors and Experts: Climate-health experts, educators, and practitioners who will facilitate and mentor participants.
- Broader Stakeholders: Representatives from government health departments, academic institutions, NGOs, and regional organizations.
Participant Eligibility and Selection:
- Application Period: October 27 - November 15, 2024.
- Eligibility Criteria:
- Completion of the Africa Climate and Health Responder Course.
- Current role in an institution based in Africa related to education or capacity building for health professionals or community members.
- Commitment to designing and deploying a climate-health responder course for their community or institution.
- Availability to attend at least 70% of bi-monthly sessions starting in February 2025.
Selected participants will be notified in December 2024 and will confirm their commitment in January 2025. The Community of Practice officially begins in February 2025.
Program Structure:
The training consists of 15 one-hour sessions every other Monday from February 10 to June 16, 2025, 4:00-5:00 PM Central Africa Time. Each session includes expert presentations, interactive discussions, and critical conversations on defining educational needs, curriculum design, and program evaluation.
Key Components:
- Hub-and-Spokes Design:
- Hub: A team of climate-health experts providing mentorship.
- Spokes: Alumni from across Africa sharing experiences and receiving feedback on their education initiatives.
- Case-Based Learning:
- Focus on real-world challenges, including program design, community engagement, and scalability.
- Didactic Presentations:
- Topics include effective education models, emergency response, monitoring and evaluation, policy advocacy, and fundraising.
- Interactive Discussions:
- Peer-to-peer exchanges to foster innovation and adaptation of programs to local contexts.
- Mentorship and Resources:
- Tailored guidance from mentors, along with access to resources such as toolkits and curriculum guides.
CONTACT: dm3952@columbia.edu, Danielly Magalhães she/her