PREPAREDNESS, PREDICTION, PREVENTION, AND PARTNERS: A NOAA-WIDE APPROACH TO REDUCE PUBLIC HEALTH RISK

That our climate, our oceans and our health are intimately connected is well recognized, but extremely complex. Addressing the challenges of a changing environment and its implications for health is a task that takes multiple disciplines, agencies, and institutions. NOAA has strong capacity to predict climate and weather; to understand, monitor and model ocean, coastal, and atmospheric processes; and to operationalize in situ and satellite observations into useful products. With its public health partners NOAA is bringing this capacity to enhance public health and well-being. What does the next season hold for risk of exposure to Lyme disease or West Nile Virus? Will there be more extremely hot days this year in my town? Will the cut you got while detangling your fishing line cost you your life or your limb due to water-borne pathogens? Why is the whale on the beach you take your children to dead, and should you be worried about it? Can we build early warning systems for cholera, malaria or meningitis? NOAA is working hand in hand with its public health partners to help answer these and other emerging health questions. This talk will cover a suite of NOAA-wide efforts including NOAA’s One Health Strategy, Ecological Forecasting Roadmap, and Early Warning Systems.