event
Friday 06 Dec 2019: Prediction and Prevention of Cholera: The Early Action for Cholera for Cholera (EACH) Project
Professor Rosa Barciela - Met Office
Harrison 170 14:30-15:30
Abstract:
In 2018 UNICEF, and their Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), used meteorological forecasts and cholera risk model information to target cholera interventions and preventive activities. It was reported that, after using this information and in combination with other factors, the suspected cholera cases reported decreased by ~ 60%, between January and November 2018. This talk will present the inter-agency collaborative efforts, by the Met Office, the University of Florida and UNICEF. It will also provide an overview of The ‘Early Action for Cholera’ project, which builds upon the 2018 interventions in Yemen, including an insight into the scientific information provided to the in-country teams in Yemen, how this was used and the next steps to improve the prediction of, and the preparedness and response to, future cholera outbreaks in countries susceptible to it.
Biography:
As Head of Scientific Consultancy, Rosa's role is to provide end users with robust, science-based information on the direct and indirect impacts and risks across all sectors that are vulnerable to the effects of adverse weather and climate and non-climatic drivers.
Professor Barciela is also Strategic Head of Science Integartion for Human Health and coordinates climate and environmental sciences, epidemiology and human health to encourage integration of human health adaptations to climate change with wider environmental adaptation strategies. She works with Public Health England, the European Centre for Environment and Human Health and the University of Exeter on environmental public health tracking. Prof. Barciela also works with international experts in NOAA and the joint WMO-WHO Office on research related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Her career highlights include:
- Eighteen years of experience developing and evaluating ocean prediction and climate modelling systems, at global and regional scales with an emphasis on the pull-through of research into weather and climate products and services.
- First-hand experience working with policy and decision-makers while seconded to the Marine and Fisheries Directorate of Defra.
- Assessment of requirements and evidence to inform international policy and negotiations on fisheries and ecosystem assessments during her time as co-chair of the International Councilfor the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Working Group on Operational oceanographic products for Fisheries and the Environment.
- Coordination of international programmes of work (e.g. GODAE OceanView Task Team) and requirements for the specification of the European Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (e.g. GMES Partnership for User Requirements Evaluation).
- Expert Reviewer to IPCC Working Group II Assessment Report 5.
