Published 20 October 2024 at 15.20
Foreign. Medical education in Europe will soon focus more on diseases linked to alleged climate change, writes The Guardian. Behind the change is a project funded by the WHO as well as AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, Roche and a number of other pharmaceutical giants.
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The green change of medical education aims to to prepare the doctors of the future for the “health challenges” that global warming is said to bring, including a major focus on peripheral diseases spread by mosquitoes in Europe.
Medical students will also learn to adapt treatments based on climate impacts rather than only traditional ideals of efficiency and patient safety, for example by using more environmentally friendly asthma inhalers, writes The Guardian.
Dr. Camille Huser, co-chair of the network, admits in The Guardian that climate change does not necessarily create new diseases. However, she believes that the spread of existing diseases may increase. Symptoms and complications from diseases such as diabetes are also thought to be more serious in a changing climate.
In addition to being trained in depth to deal with unusual but politically interesting diseases such as heatstroke, the students will also be trained in how the healthcare system can reduce its “carbon footprint”.
Enche is expected to integrate climate awareness throughout medical education to ensure that future doctors are well equipped to “meet climate-related health challenges”, writes The Guardian.