Climate Change, Migration and Health

Dr. Patricia Nayna Schwerdtle's research group focuses on advancing climate change adaptation for health in the Global South, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected states. Their research has a focus on the nexus of climate change, migration and health with related projects on developing climate-resilient, low-carbon and migrant-inclusive health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and understanding the interplay between climate change and humanitarian assistance. 

Working between the Interdisciplinary Centre for Scientific Computing (IWR) and the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH), this solutions-oriented research group holds grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) to study the interplay between climate change, migration, and health in Burkina Faso and from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Fogarty International Centre for a project with the Climate Action Accelerator (CAA) on health facility resilience in Chad and South Africa. The group also has a particular interest in partnering with Small Island Developing States with research experience and ongoing collaborations in the Pacific and the Maldives.

As members of the WHO Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate Change and Health (WHO ATACH) and the CliMigHealth International Thematic Network on climate change, migration and health, the group focus on high impact, translational research and implementation research. Committed to bridging the gap between research, policy, and practice, the group collaborates with international organizations and has presented research findings at UNFCCC COP conferences.

Dr. Nayna Schwerdtle is also committed to advancing the principles of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement to improve higher education and academic research and she regularly publishes works to support these principles.