South Africa - Addressing heat-health threats among women, infants and children

Team The team comprised Climate Change and Health Research Programme researchers at the South African Medical Research Council, the National Department of Health (NDoH): Environmental Health Directorate, the South African Weather Service and the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE). [...] Initially, the team worked in an uncoordinated fashion but, in 2023, the National Climate Change and Health Steering Committee (NCCHSC) was inaugurated, thereby creating a formal body to implement and oversee the National Climate Change and Health Adaptation Plan, National Heat Health Action Guidelines and other climate change and health activities within the National Departments of Health and Env. [...] HEAT tool implementation and findings Throughout the stakeholder engagement exercise, and with application of the five- step conceptual framework (described above), indicators for the HEAT tool were identified to assess heat and health vulnerability and resilience. [...] For the next steps in this project, the research team recommends an assessment of the effectiveness and impact of both the National Heat Health Action Guidelines and the HEAT tool on healthcare facilities and vulnerable communities. [...] Uptake of the guidelines and materials by the National Department of Health (NDoH): in the second part of 2023, over 2,500 posters and flyers were collected and circulated by the NDoH to all nine provinces in South Africa.