Working in the intersection of climate and health in the Latin American and the Caribbean Context.

Climate-sensitive infectious diseases (CSID) pose an increasing threat to public health as their prevalence is affected by changes in the climate in both local and global settings. To understand the climate-health nexus and improve the existing strategies on emergency preparedness and response to infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics, it is pivotal that both climate and health-related scientific communities and stakeholders work closely. Based on a qualitative study that included 20 interviews with experts working in the intersection of climate and health in Latin American and Caribbean countries and in-person workshops for data validation, we identified the main challenges scholars in the field face to advance research in CSID in the region. Key findings include that researchers working in climate and those working in health-related projects rarely collaborate or share spaces for interdisciplinary work; building a community of experts able to navigate the intersection of health and climate requires a common theoretical and methodological language in which collaboration is possible. Data sources for both areas are largely siloed and uncoordinated; in this regard, there is a need to strengthen data systems that are interoperable and secure and in which environmental and epidemiological data can be available. A deeper agreement is needed on which and how relevant data should be collected, stored or used. There is also a strong need for funding opportunities to foster collaboration across governmental agencies, emergency response and academia. Finally, civil society expertise, particularly from the most vulnerable groups exposed to the climatic crisis, is excluded from most existing research and collaboration should be extended to local communities.