European Network on Climate and Health Education (ENCHE)

Overview:

The European Network on Climate and Health Education (ENCHE) is working in close coordination with the GCCHE as a regional network and aims to equip the next generation of medics with the knowledge and insights to deliver sustainable healthcare practices and support the transition to patient-centric, net-zero health systems. Glasgow University is extending an invitation to Europe-based universities to join the network. The ENCHE aims to upskill future medics by convening a network of interested faculty staff across Europe to support effective and inspiring teaching for students; share best practices (incl. curricula) across leading universities; and connect leaders in their field from within and beyond academia to enable the latest information to be exchanged with students and staff alike.

Leadership:

Camille Huser

Co-Chair

Dr Camille Huser is the Depute Head of the Undergraduate Medical School (Biosciences), a member of the Senate Student Conduct Committees and former Director of the Health Professions Education Masters Programme. She received an MSc from the Universite Louis Pasteur in France, and a PhD from Cambridge. At the University of Glasgow, she has held roles such as the Technology-Enhanced Learning and Teaching representative for Undergraduate Medical School and had a leading role in the pivot to online learning for both early year and clinical year students. Dr Huser has been academic lead for the Head, Neck and Neurological Systems and Cardiovascular and Respiratory System blocks and has led the Medical Independant Learning Exam. Dr Huser is passionate about education for sustainable healthcare and leads a student selected module on the topic. Dr Huser chairs the Universitas 21 Health Sciences SDG initiative, has had a leading role in the creation of a UK Medical Schools Council Education for Sustainable Healthcare alliance, and co-chairs of the European Network for Climate and Health Education (ENCHE), funded by the Sustainable Markets Initiative.

Iain McInnes 

Co-Chair

Professor Iain McInnes is Vice Principal and Head of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Muirhead Chair of Medicine and Versus Arthritis Professor of Rheumatology at the University of Glasgow. He is also Director of the Versus Arthritis Centre of Excellence for Inflammatory Arthritis, led from Glasgow and including Universities of Oxford, Newcastle, and Birmingham. 

Iain is one of the leading figures in global research into rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis. His work has been hugely influential in driving new approaches and treatments for inflammatory diseases. Over two decades, he has led numerous clinical trials and pathogenesis investigation programmes in inflammatory arthritis at an international level. His work has focused upon the biology of inflammatory cytokines in arthritis and extended to other inflammatory diseases, as well as the mechanisms of co-morbidities in chronic diseases. He has additionally pioneered the area of precision medicine in inflammatory arthritis. 

He was Chief Investigator of the IMID-Bio-UK meta-consortium leading the UK effort to discover precision medicine tractable biomarkers for application in immune diseases. He is past Chairman of the FOREUM (Foundation for European Rheumatology Research) Scientific Committee, recently lead the European Roadmap programme that defined the research agenda for European rheumatology for the next decade and, from 2019-2021, was President of EULAR, the leading transnational society for rheumatology across Europe.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2019 by HM Queen Elizabeth II.

Kyra Lilier

Fellow

Kyra Lilier is a medical doctor, research associate, and doctoral candidate at the Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University. Her research focuses on the intersection of climate change and health, with particular interest in qualitative implementation science. She has worked on community-based mental health and well-being in Bangladesh and One Health approaches to pandemic preparedness in Thailand. Her work applies participatory and culturally sensitive methodologies, with a commitment to decolonized global health practicesto promote sustainable, healthy and fulfilling lives for all. She has presented her research at international conferences, including the UN climate change conference COP28. Kyra has led student initiatives on planetary health education recognized with faculty and international awards, including the development and curricular integration of the simulated-patient-based course ‘Klima-LIMETTE’ on climate and health for medical students. She is a recipient of the Friedrich-Thieding Scholarship and a former fellow at the Heidelberg Graduate School of Global Health. Outside of academia, Kyra is a passionate mountaineer and yoga facilitator.

Key Partners:  

The ENCHE operates in close coordination with and as a regional network of the  Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE). Under the leadership of Prof. Cecilia Sorensen, the GCCHE offers their expertise and best practice sharing to the ENCHE and sits on its Steering Committee. Collaboration between the ENCHE and GCCHE promotes transatlantic collaboration on climate and health teaching in universities for future doctors. 

The Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force  is a public-private partnership of global health leaders united around the common goal of accelerating the transition to net zero, patient-centric health systems. Members of the Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force (AstraZeneca; Bupa; GSK; Novartis; Novo Nordisk; Roche; Sanofi) are pleased to support this initiative, including through seed funding to enable the operationalisation of the ENCHE and connectivity with the GCCHE. 

ENCHE is grateful for our additional partnerships with WHO Academy and EMLyon.

The Climate-Health Nexus

• The climate crisis is a global health crisis. Climate change is resulting in a steep rise in respiratory and cardiopulmonary disease as well as cancer and mental health issues. The climate crisis will indirectly cause more than 10m deaths per year according to the WHO, with its impact set to continue without significant action taken. 
• The climate crisis is also a health equity crisis, with the most vulnerable populations the most significantly impacted.
• ~5% of emissions from the health sector: Ironically, the healthcare sector, whose fundamental aim is to keep people healthy, is contributing to this challenge, emitting around 5% of global emissions and more in some developing economies, according to studies cited by the NHS.  
• Future medics will be at the frontline of these challenges and will see the volume and nature of the illnesses they treat directly impacted by climate change in coming years.

The Opportunity:

• Respond to growing demand and interest: There is an increasing interest from students and faculty at medical schools for sustainability to be included in medical degree curricula.
• Develop a pipeline of future ambassadors: Educating the next generation of healthcare professionals (HCPs) on the interconnection of climate, health, and sustainability which represents a significant opportunity to empower the next generation of medics to deliver more sustainable healthcare practice
• Enable reach across the health ecosystem: Universities are uniquely positioned to influence education across the healthcare profession more broadly and can therefore inspire positive impact at scale.
• An identified need for a network to support teaching on climate and health: the establishment of a university-led network was identified to further engagement with over 20 academic institutions and leaders in this field. 

The Status Quo:

Inconsistent delivery of education on this agenda: Currently, sustainability education varies greatly across institutions and relies heavily on the knowledge and interest of individual faculty staff and engagement of student groups. In many academic institutions, sustainability is not part of medical curricula.  Teaching on the climate-health nexus is not currently a requirement by many European accreditation bodies.

Resource challenges: Universities are not generally equipped with resources to teach on climate and health or healthcare sustainability. While there is significant appetite by universities to educate students on these topics, there is a lack of fora and channels for best practice sharing across European and international networks to upskill across borders on this critical agenda. 

Our Ambitious Goals: 

• Engage ~10,000 students over three years on sustainability within medical curricula once the network is established (based on 25 universities joining from launch) in 2024.
• Embed sustainability content in at least three national curricula in Europe. 
• In addition to the provision of an online hub, webinars and engagements will be convened to strengthen the network of interested experts and medical educators.

Contact: Dr. Camille Huser (She/Her), Deputy Head of Undergraduate Medical School, University of Glasgow at: Camille.Huser@glasgow.ac.uk