Climate change is altering disease patterns, increasing pressure on health services, and intensifying existing public health risks. Across the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), these challenges intersect with water scarcity, environmental degradation, displacement, fragile health systems, and limited capacity to respond to climate-related threats.

To examine how climate-health evidence can inform workforce development and institutional action, EMPHNET hosted the 56^th session of the EMPHNET WEBi Series, titled “From Evidence to Action: Integrating Climate-Health Intelligence into FETP Structures and One Health Governance,” on July 21, 2026.

The session brought together experts from EMPHNET and the World Bank to discuss climate-health governance, the integration of climate and environmental epidemiology into Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETPs), and country experiences from Iraq, Tunisia, and Syria.

Opening Remarks

Dr. Haitham Bashier, Director of the Public Health Emergency Management Center at EMPHNET, opened the webinar by emphasizing that climate change has become a defining public health challenge. He highlighted the growing impact of climate change on public health and stressed the need for stronger multisectoral collaboration through One Health approaches.

Governance and Workforce Capacity for Climate-Health Action

Setting the scene on the topic, Dr. Stephen Dorey, Senior Health Specialist with the World Bank's Health Systems Resilience Program, presented how climate change is reshaping public health and discussed the need to integrate climate-health intelligence into routine public health practice.

He emphasized that FETPs provide a strong platform for building climate-informed workforce capacity, while effective governance, institutional coordination, and multisectoral collaboration are essential for translating evidence into action. He also presented the World Bank's climate-health competency framework and curriculum, designed to help countries strengthen workforce competencies and institutional resilience.

Integrating Climate and Environmental Epidemiology into FETPs

Prof. Yousef Khader, Director of the Center of Excellence for Applied Epidemiology at EMPHNET, presented a consensus-based framework developed by EMPHNET in collaboration with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to integrate climate and environmental epidemiology into FETPs across the Region.

The framework was developed through a three-round Delphi process involving multidisciplinary experts from 13 countries. It identifies nine core competency domains that extend existing FETP competencies to address climate and environmental health threats. Designed for frontline, intermediate, and advanced FETPs, the framework provides a practical approach for progressively integrating climate and environmental epidemiology competencies into applied epidemiology training.

Tunisia and Syria: From Vulnerability Assessments to Action

Dr. Mikhael Iglesias Luzardo, Health Specialist at the World Bank, presented how Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessments (CHVAs) can help countries translate climate-health evidence into planning and investment. He described climate change as an accelerant that increases disease burdens, places chronic pressure on health systems, and creates acute disruptions during extreme events.

Drawing on experiences from Tunisia and Syria, he demonstrated how CHVAs identify climate hazards, vulnerable populations, and health system vulnerabilities to inform climate-resilient interventions. In Tunisia, the assessments highlighted widespread exposure to extreme heat and flooding, informing investments in climate-resilient primary health care, emergency preparedness, and public health infrastructure. In Syria, the assessments identified the overlap between climate hazards, displaced populations, and damaged health infrastructure, helping prioritize resilient reconstruction and preparedness efforts. He emphasized that CHVAs provide an evidence base for strengthening preparedness, prioritizing investments, and building more resilient health systems.

Iraq: Moving from National Plans to Institutional Action

Dr. Berq Al-Yasseri, Health Specialist at the World Bank Iraq Country Office, presented Iraq’s experience in translating national climate-health plans into institutional and workforce action.

He explained how Iraq is linking national climate-health plans with institutional roles, governance arrangements, workforce competencies, and adaptable training resources. He emphasized phased implementation, institutional ownership, and aligning competencies with institutional mandates while building on existing platforms such as FETPs, One Health, emergency preparedness, and primary health care.

He also emphasized the importance of phased implementation, institutional ownership, and linking climate-health capacity building with existing platforms such as FETPs, One Health, emergency preparedness, and primary health care.

Audience Discussion

The discussion focused on the challenges of translating climate-health commitments into sustained institutional action. Participants explored multisectoral coordination, the integration of climate-health priorities within One Health approaches, and strategies for embedding climate-health competencies into FETPs.

Key Takeaways

• Climate change is increasingly shaping public health risks, requiring health systems to integrate climate intelligence into surveillance, preparedness, and decision-making.
• Strengthening workforce competencies through Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETPs) is essential for preparing public health professionals to address climate-sensitive health threats.
• Effective climate-health action depends on strong governance, institutional ownership, sustainable financing, and multisectoral collaboration through One Health approaches.
• Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessments (CHVAs) provide an evidence base for identifying risks, prioritizing investments, and guiding climate-resilient health planning.
• Building existing public health platforms, such as FETPs and One Health structures, enables countries to translate climate-health evidence into sustainable institutional action.

Watch the webinar here.

Explore more sessions from the EMPHNET WEBi Series here.