Climate Change and Public Health – the Environment’s Impact on Infectious Diseases
Thursday 25 Sep 2025: 10:30 – 15:30 SGT
Venue: MD1 Level 8 Seminar Room 1, National University of Singapore (NUS)
Scope & Purpose
The term “Climate Change” has become a common subject of discussion, even in our everyday conversations. These environmental changes pose significant risks to human health; however, the impact of Climate Change on public health, including infectious diseases and outbreaks, has received minimal attention, despite its profound effects on our lives. No region in the world is immune to the health effects of Climate Change, with consequences observed in diverse areas such as Asia and Europe. The shifting burden of diseases, influenced by Climate Change, is evident on both continents, with dengue fever serving as a notable example.
Rising temperatures can alter the disease burden, and potentially contribute to the emergence of the next pandemic. While urgent actions are necessary to prevent catastrophic health impacts stemming from Climate Change, not much is being done or discussed. Alarming data from academic research should be made more visible to the public and should directly influence related policies. To address this issue, we need to foster dialogue that connects academia and policymakers to help shape the agenda.
On 25 September 2025, the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH), National University of Singapore (NUS), are jointly organising a one-day event to generate much-needed dialogue to address Climate Change and Infectious Diseases. The programme will consist of two sessions designed to engage a broad range of stakeholders.
Session 1 will explore how climate change impacts public health, creating space for intersectoral dialogue to help shape a common Asia-Europe agenda.
Session 2 will be targeted at a more technical audience, diving deeper into impacts of climate change on health within the distinct contexts of Asia and Europe. The session will also address the associated challenges for public health policy and outline a pathway for collaborative and coordinated research initiatives between the two continents
This event marks the ASEF Public Health Network’s (ASEF PHN) first engagement on the climate and health nexus. In collaboration with SSHSPH, the event aims to serve as a launching point for ASEF PHN’s future engagement in this increasingly critical field. It will gather a diverse audience bridging accessible discussions with in-depth insights.
Session 1: Climate and Health – Why It Matters to All of Us (10:00 AM – 12:00 PM)
Session 1 will explore how climate change is driving the emergence, spread, and changing patterns of infectious diseases across Asia and Europe. This session aims to raise awareness of the complex health impacts caused by shifting climate patterns which includes rising temperatures, and the occurrence, frequency and intensity of floods. Warmer temperatures and the expanding habitats for mosquitoes, for example, are contributing to the spread of vector-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria. Meanwhile, more frequent and severe flooding events, exacerbated by poor sanitation, are increasing the risk of water-borne diseases such as cholera. These trends highlight the urgent need to understand and address how climate change is driving a wide spectrum of infectious diseas threats.
Designed for a broad audience, the session will provide insights through regional examples and expert perspectives on the connection between Climate Change and Public Health, particularly regarding potential future pandemics. In addition to raising awareness, the session will create a platform for intersectoral dialogue, bringing together voices from research and policy to discuss how they can collaborate effectively to help shape a coordinated agenda on climate and infectious disease preparedness in Asia and Europe.
Session objectives:
- Raise awareness of how climate change is driving infectious disease risks in both Asia and Europe
- Highlight real-world implications for public health, from changing disease vectors to impacts on health systems and communities
- Demonstrate why emerging infectious diseases should be a priority concern for all stakeholders, not just health professionals
- Facilitate intersectoral dialogue that bridges academia and policymakers
- Promote Asia-Europe cooperation by identifying shared vulnerabilities and opportunities for collaboration
Session 1 will conclude by identifying key emerging infectious disease challenges and priority questions that emerge from the discussions, setting the stage for Session 2’s in-depth technical exploration of research gaps and collaborative pathways forward.
Session 2: Climate & Health: Cross-Continental Perspectives on Emerging Infectious Disease Risks (1:30 PM – 5:30 PM)
As the climate crisis accelerates, it is fundamentally redrawing the global map of infectious disease risk. Rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events are intensifying the conditions for pathogen emergence, expanding vector habitats, and straining already-vulnerable public health systems. This session convenes leading experts from Asia and Europe to examine the complex, context-specific ways in which climate change is reshaping infectious disease dynamics across continents.
Through a comparative lens, speakers will explore the wide-ranging impacts of climate change on infectious disease risks, drawing on both scientific insight and real-world public health experience. The session will consider how shifting environmental conditions, socio-political contexts, and health system capacities shape patterns of disease emergence and transmission. Emphasis will be placed on identifying vulnerabilities, addressing gaps in preparedness, and understanding how different regions are adapting to overlapping health and climate pressures.
Session Objectives:
- Identify critical research gaps and high-risk transmission scenarios emerging at the intersection of climate variability and infectious disease in Asia and Europe.
- Highlight high-risk transmission patterns and emerging threats specific to Asia and Europe.
Evaluate adaptation strategies and public health policy responses across different ecological, epidemiological, and economic settings. - Identify critical research gaps in understanding the links between climate variability and infectious disease.
- Facilitate a cross-regional dialogue aimed at catalyzing transnational research partnerships, integrated surveillance systems, and coordinated policy innovation.
Organisers
Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) & ASEF Public Health Network (ASEF PHN)
The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF)[1], founded in 1997, is an intergovernmental not-for-profit organisation representing the 53 ASEM Partners[2]: 30 European and 21 Asian countries, plus the European Union and the ASEAN Secretariat. Following the 6th ASEM Summit (ASEM6; 2006; Helsinki, Finland), where the leaders expressed their determination to combat avian influenza and a possible human influenza pandemic, the ASEM Initiative for the Rapid Containment of Pandemic Influenza, financially supported by the Government of Japan, was officially launched at the 9th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (ASEM FMM9; 2009; Hanoi, Viet Nam). Since then, the 2 components of the Initiative (ASEM Stockpiling of Anti-viral Drugs and Personal Protective Equipment, as well as ASEF Public Health Network) have contributed to strengthening ASEM Partners’ capacity to manage public health emergencies.
Co-Organiser
SSHSPH
Building upon decades of experience in research, training and practice in epidemiology and public health, the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH), National University of Singapore, was established in October 2011 as Singapore’s first and only national public health tertiary education institution. The School is also a member of the National University Health System (NUHS). The School aims to continually foster healthier communities in Singapore and the region, and impact public health programmes and policies through its robust educational programmes and translational cross-disciplinary research work on cohort studies and life course epidemiology, infectious disease research, health technology assessments, health promotion, workplace safety and health, health systems evaluation and health services research. An interdisciplinary approach, augmented by rigorous training, applicable research and regional partnerships, places SSHSPH at the forefront of public health knowledge discovery and practice in Asia. The School actively collaborates with many partners including the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Harvard School of Public Health and University of Michigan School of Public Health. Its flagship programme, the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, attracts students from a wide range of disciplines from within Singapore and throughout the region.
ASEF PHN is financially supported by the Government of Japan
