A CASE OF CO-PRODUCTION OF CLIMATE-HEALTH RESEARCH ETHICAL RULES WITH MEMBERS OF GRASSROOTS WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS IN SOUTH AMERICA (WHO)

Director: Romina Rekers

This project is supported by World Health Organization (WHO).

Climate change requires revising ethical principles and rules in health research. One of the circumstances that makes this revision necessary is that the temporal and geographical distribution of health risks and health research benefits will vary under different future climate scenarios. For example, at present the global south can be considered the main beneficiary of research on climate-sensitive infectious diseases. However, in different future climate scenarios, this research will also benefit countries in the global north, some of which are already experiencing the impacts of tropicalization on the burden of infectious diseases.

Despite the importance of climate-health research, this agenda is underdeveloped in many regions like South America. In the region, setting a climate-health research priorities and developing climate-health research ethical guidelines is a pending task that should be developed considering the local factors that constrain climate health strategies' feasibility, limit their transformational potential, and increase the probability of maladaptation. This project aims to co-develop ethical rules for climate-health research with grassroots women's organizations in South America.

Reducing the risks that climate change poses to population health requires a transition towards climate resilience development. Climate-health adaptation is one of the pillars of this transition. However, it has not been at the forefront of national adaptation planning in South America. Although National Adaptation Plans recognize health as a high-priority sector, they still lack allocation of funds, involvement of health-related institutions, and measurable indicators to guide policymakers. Moreover, only Brazil, Chile, Suriname, and Argentina have developed their Health National Adaptation Plans.

https://www.who.int/news-room/articles-detail/call-for-proposals--who-project-on-ethical-climate-and-health-research

RESEARCH TEAM 

Director - Romina Rekers

Postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Philosophy of the University of Graz. Currently leading the project "A political conception of transitional justice", funded by the FWF. She is also a Research Associate in the project Global Health Justice: Duties of International Cooperation for Infectious Disease Control at the Oxford-Johns Hopkins Global Infectious Disease Ethics Collaborative (GLIDE). She serves as a mentor at the Fogarty International Center at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). She is a member of the editorial committee of the Latin American Journal of Political Philosophy. Her research was supported by grants from the Argentine Council for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET) and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW).

Contact: romina.rekers@uni-graz.at

Assistant Researcher - Carlos Yabar

Biologist, Federico Villarreal National University (Peru). Master in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Peruvian University Cayetano Heredia (Peru). PhD in Biological Sciences, National University of San Marcos (Peru). Diploma in Bioethics, FLACSO (Argentina). Researcher and President of the Institutional Committee of Research Ethics of the National Institute of Health of Peru. Research professor at the San Martín de Porres University (Peru) and the National University of Trujillo (Peru). Reviewer of the Pan American Journal of Public Health since April 2015. Principal investigator and co-investigator of several research projects in Molecular Biology and Bioethics. He has 22 scientific publications and 24 recognitions.

Assistant Researcher - Cintia Rodríguez Garat

She is a PhD candidate in Philosophy from the Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences of the National University of La Plata. Master in Philosophy from the National University of Quilmes. She is a Fogarty International Center (FIC) - National Cancer Institute (NCI) Scholar from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO, Academic Headquarters of Argentina) of the Training Program in Research Ethics in the Master's in Bioethics. She has a Higher Degree Bioethics (FLACSO). She completed postgraduate studies in Political Science and Sociology (FLACSO); and she has a Higher Degree in Special Educational Needs, Inclusive Practices and Autism Spectrum Disorders (FLACSO).

Assistant Researcher - Victoria Gerbaldo

Lawyer (National University of Córdoba), Outstanding Graduate and University Award 2016. She is working on the Master's Degree Thesis in Law and Argumentation (National University of Córdoba). Teaching Assistant in Constitutional Law. She participates in research groups on human rights, public health and philosophy of law. She has coordinated work teams related to accountability, transparency and strategic litigation.

Assistant Researcher - Marcia Videla Ayala

Lawyer by the National University of Córdoba. Trajectory in Public Policies from a rights, gender and inclusion approach.
Director of formal and non-formal education spaces for youth and adults. Coordinator of workshops and trainings on human rights in prisons.

Assistant Researcher - Lucas Rekers

Climate policy adviser. Lead Auditor ISO IQNet 14001 and 50001. Environmental educator. Student of the Bachelor's Degree in Political Science at Universidad Tres de Febrero.