Climate Change and Health

Health Analysis & Information For Action (HAIFA)

We have developed the HAIFA resource system with funding support from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology. It is the first international project of its kind. The resource aims to provide central, regional and local authorities with information to help them formulate and plan the implementation of responses and adaptive strategies for increasing human health resilience to the infectious disease consequences of climate variation and change.

HAIFA consists of:

• Modelling and Map Portal – disease projections at the 5x5 km scale across New Zealand for the three greenhouse gas emission scenarios B1 (low), A1B (medium), and A2 (high) and the three time periods 2015, 2040, and 2090.
• Reviews and Stakeholder Interviews – literature reviews on web system development, information for action, and technology transfer, and stakeholder interviews.
• Water Supply Vulnerability Assessment – a tool to guide small communities in assessing their water supply’s vulnerability to climate change.
• Environmental Health Indicators – a tool to assess and monitor the impacts of climate change on food- and water- borne diseases.
• Disease Attribute Intelligence System – a dynamic risk assessment tool for monitoring emerging disease risk.
• Further Resources – links to useful national and international resources.

Publication from this research is ongoing and links to articles will be added to the website when they are published. In the future, HAIFA could be extended to include other human health risks associated with climate change and provide real-time early warnings or predictions using linked data sources.

Collaborators