Meeting of the IAI Directorate with Government Authorities in the Republic of Argentina

Almost 100 experts from 20 countries participated in workshop “Climate, Environment and Health for the Americas”

From March 13 to 17, 2023, the workshop “Climate, Environment and Health for the Americas” was held in San Martín de los Andes, organized by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), the Ministry of Public Health of the province of Neuquén, Argentina, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Global Consortium for Climate and Health Education (GCCHE). The province of Neuquén was selected as the venue for the event because it is one of the provinces where PAHO implements a proposal approved by the Green Climate Fund to strengthen the health sector’s response to climate change, with the national government and three provincial governments (Neuquén, Misiones and Tucumán).

The objective of the workshop was to strengthen the capacities of researchers and decision makers to address the complex problems that link climate, environment and human health in the region, from a transdisciplinary and intersectoral perspective. Likewise, meetings with local authorities from the government of the Argentine province of Neuquén and other provinces of Patagonia, national authorities from the Argentine government and international organizations such as the World Meteorological Organization, focused on ways to develop greater regional collaboration and a coordinated agenda in the nexus of climate, environment and health.

The workshop convened almost 100 experts from 20 countries in the Americas who represented academic, governmental, non-governmental and international institutions. Thirteen transdisciplinary research teams also participated, which will receive funding from IAI to implement seed projects that will generate scientific knowledge to support decision making in the Americas.

Finally, the call for the Belmont Forum Collaborative Research Action on Climate, Environment and Health II (CRA2) was announced, which seeks to support innovative and transformative initiatives that generate evidence-based solutions to improve the quality of life of vulnerable populations. The IAI will fund teams from its member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (more information: https://www.iai.int/en/news/detail/Collaborative-Research-Action-on-Climate-Environment-and-Health-II).

Among the attendees of the workshop were:

  • Omar Gutiérrez, Governor of Neuquén, Argentina
  • Marcos Koopmann, Vice Governor of Neuquén, Argentina
  • Sebastián González, Chief of Cabinet of the Government of the Province of Neuquén, Argentina
  • Carla Vizzotti, Minister of Health of Argentina
  • Andrea Peve, Minister of Health of the Neuquén Province, Argentina
  • Carlos Javier Darío Saloniti, Mayor of the City of San Martín de Los Andes, Neuquén, Argentina
  • María Andrea Echauri, Advisor to the Minister of Health of Neuquén, Argentina
  • Carolina Mura, Director of Institutional Relations of the Ministry of Health of the province of Neuquén, Argentina
  • María de los Milagros Skansi, Director, Central Climate Monitoring Service, National Meteorological Service of Argentina
  • Eva Jané Llopis, Representative of the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization, Argentina
  • Daniel Buss; Head of Unit, Climate Change and Environmental Determinants of Health - Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
  • Alejandra Ferrero, National Consultant on Environmental Determinants of Health and Climate Change, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Argentina
  • Bárbara Tapia Cortés, Technical Coordinator of Services for the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
  • Juan José Nieto, Director of the International Center for Research on El Niño Phenomenon (CIIFEN)
  • Marcos Regis da Silva, Executive Director, Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI)
  • Marcella Ohira, Deputy Executive Director and Director of Capacity Building, Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI)
  • Anna Stewart-Ibarra, Scientific Director, Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI)