Burjeel Holdings Center for Climate and Health will focus on helping Combat the Effects of Climate Change on health Through Advanced Protocols and Expert Consultation
Abu Dhabi, UAE, 21 September 2024: In a move to address the intersection of climate change and public health, Burjeel Holdings, a leading super-specialty healthcare services provider in the MENA region, has announced the launch of the Burjeel Holdings Center for Climate and Health. This initiative in the region will tackle the pressing health impacts of climate change by integrating climate-related counseling and preventive strategies into clinical care across Burjeel’s extensive healthcare network.
The summer of 2024 was the hottest on record globally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is a direct link between climate change and growing humanitarian emergencies, including heatwaves, floods, wildfires, and the spread of diseases. Climate-related stressors already affect over 3.6 billion people worldwide, and by 2030 to 2050, climate change is expected to cause an additional 250,000 deaths annually due to heat stress, undernutrition, and the spread of infectious diseases.
Recognizing these growing risks, Burjeel Holdings has launched the Center for Climate and Health to proactively address these threats. The center will introduce advanced screening and consultation protocols to identify climate-sensitive triggers, such as air pollution and extreme heat, ensuring patients receive personalized care tailored to environmental factors affecting their health. Healthcare professionals at Burjeel will incorporate climate risk assessments during patient consultations, providing patients with counseling on how to mitigate the impact of environmental stressors.
With climate change increasingly contributing to health issues such as heat-related illnesses and the worsening of chronic respiratory conditions, Burjeel Holdings will provide targeted counseling to help patients understand and manage how environmental factors, like air quality and heat exposure, impact their health. The initiative will be integrated into routine healthcare screenings, history-taking, chronic disease management, and discharge planning, ensuring that patients receive care designed to address the evolving risks posed by climate change.
Dr. Mohammad Fityan, Consultant Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine, and HOD Weight Management Clinic, Burjeel Medical City, and one of the key advocates for the initiative, emphasized the center’s importance: “Climate change is no longer just an environmental issue—it’s a public health crisis. The center for Climate and Health will allow us to integrate climate-change-associated risk assessment into our everyday clinical practice, ensuring our patients receive the best possible care in this new reality.”
“Some drugs can impact our thermoregulatory system, making some patients more vulnerable to excessive heat, so we need to be mindful of those triggers when we treat our patients,” added Dr. Fadi Baladi, Director Clinical Programs & Consultant Internal Medicine at Burjeel Day Surgery Center, Al Reem Island.
Dr. Virendra Kumar Misra, Specialist Cardiovascular Disease at Burjeel Day Surgery Center, Al Reem Island, is another leading expert who is part of the initiative, added, “Climate change may affect cardiovascular health through several ways and the healthcare landscape is rapidly evolving to help mitigate the climate—related environmental stressors. The center represents our commitment to develop and implement personalized prevention and management strategies to mitigate the detrimental effect of climate change on the health of our patients.”
Additionally, Dr. Dima Ibrahim, Specialist Infectious Diseases at Burjeel Medical City, highlighted how climate change heightens disease risks, “Rising temperatures and extreme weather conditions increase the risk of spreading certain vector-borne diseases. By incorporating climate-informed surveillance and response systems, we aim to protect our communities from future outbreaks.”
The center will benefit patients across the UAE, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, making Burjeel Holdings the first healthcare provider in the region to offer integrated climate-resilient healthcare solutions. Building on other programs, this initiative not only enhances patient outcomes, but also positions Burjeel Holdings as a leader in climate-conscious healthcare practices.
