Climate change presents multifaceted public health challenges, from heat-related mortality and vector-borne disease expansion to water contamination and respiratory ailments. The 2022 Lancet Countdown Report demonstrates a host of health effects of climate change ranging from heat-related illness and mortality to the spread of vector-borne and water-borne pathogens, to rising food insecurity as cropping patterns change. Current public health systems lack integrated, real-time data capabilities to identify vulnerable populations and coordinate timely responses to these climate-induced health threats, particularly in resource-constrained settings.

Precision Action Towards Climate and Health (PATCH) addresses this gap through a comprehensive digital platform that integrates multiple surveillance streams like environmental surveillance (air quality, weather patterns, water quality), participatory surveillance (community-reported health indicators), and media surveillance (disease outbreak signals) with human health, animal health, and climate data to create actionable insights for government stakeholders. The platform transforms raw data into information and ultimately into insights that inform multiple stakeholders: government departments for policy decisions, community organizations and NGOs for targeted interventions, private sector for risk mitigation actions, and the general public through media communication.

The system provides three core functionalities: - a customizable state-level health intelligence platform for real-time climate-health risk assessments - GIS-based vulnerability mapping for targeted interventions - tailored risk communication strategies across stakeholder groups.

Implementation is supported by partnerships with state health departments, meteorological agencies, including the India Meteorological Department (IMD), and medical institutions like All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Expected outcomes include optimized resource allocation through data-driven forecasting, enhanced program design targeting priority areas, streamlined implementation processes, and empowered communities with proactive health management capabilities.

Ongoing implementations across Indian states (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya) and demonstrated international expansion to the Philippines (Tabaco City) demonstrate the platform’s effectiveness in predicting disease outbreaks and informing policy responses, with potential for scaling through government integration and capacity-building initiatives.

References: Romanello, M., et al. (2022). The 2022 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: health at the mercy of fossil fuels. The Lancet, 400(10363), 1619-1654.