Building Polish doctors’ capacity on environment, climate and health

In collaboration with the Polish Supreme Medical Chamber and the Polish Society of Allergology, HEAL Poland organized a series of virtual trainings for over 300 doctors. These trainings delved into critical health topics, including the impacts of air and transport pollution, health and climate change, and the urban burden of disease. The aim was to enhance doctors’ awareness and understanding of the environmental and climate-related threats to health in Poland.

Poland faces a significant disease burden from pollution, with air pollution causing approximately 40,000 premature deaths annually. Climate change exacerbates health threats, particularly from heat and air pollution, which increase premature mortality, especially among individuals with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Additionally, climate change extends the allergy season and introduces new threats from vector-borne diseases. Despite several strategies and programs adopted in recent years to address environmental and climate threats, there is an ongoing need to increase awareness among doctors.

The series of virtual trainings in June featured public health experts from Poland and Europe, presenting interventions based on the latest scientific evidence. Notable speakers included:

• Tadeusz Zielonka, MD, PhD – Specialist in pulmonary and internal medicine, affiliated with Warsaw Medical University and Czerniakowski Hospital.
• Dorota Jarosinska, PhD – Programme manager for environmental exposures and hazards at the WHO European Center for Environment and Health in Bonn, Germany.
• Piotr Dabrowiecki, MD, PhD – Specialist in internal medicine and allergology from the Department of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, and Allergology at the Military Medical Institute in Warsaw, and chairman of the Polish Federation of Associations of Asthma, Allergy, and COPD Patients.
• Prof. Michal Krzyzanowski – Environmental epidemiologist and visiting professor in the Environmental Research Group at the School of Public Health at Imperial College London.
• Prof. Artur Jerzy Badyda – Professor in environmental engineering, mining, and energy, specializing in environmental management and environmental health.
• Krzysztof Skotak, PhD – Head of the Center for Integrated Environmental Research at the Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute.
• Christian Horemans – Head of International Affairs at the National Federation of Independent Health Insurance Funds in Belgium.
• Anne Stauffer – HEAL’s Deputy Director.

Raising doctors’ awareness can lead to better diagnosis and prevention of numerous chronic diseases, protecting especially vulnerable groups, such as children, from the impacts of pollution and climate change. The training also explored ways to engage health sector representatives in policy initiatives on environment and climate, empowering them to influence the agenda that affects their daily work at a policy level.