HEAL-HAZE: Climate Change Adaptation to Smoke Haze for Improved Child Health in Southeast Asia

Overview

This cooperative research project involving partners from Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Laos aims assess the effectiveness of climate change adaptation interventions intended to strengthen community resilience to wildfire smoke in Southeast Asia and increase their adoption and implementation in the region to protect children’s health.

Globally, seven million people die each year because of air pollution, of which 650,000 are children. One third of these preventable deaths occur in Southeast Asia. Smoke haze from wildfires (i.e. forest, peat and agricultural fires) is an increasing public health threat to which children are particularly vulnerable for both physiologic and behavioural reasons.

Climate change is the underlying cause of the prolonged dry and hot conditions that have increased the risk of extreme wildfires and smoke haze in Southeast Asia. However, there is currently limited evidence on the effectiveness of interventions aiming to reduce the impact of wildfires on children.

The HEAL-HAZE project is a partnership between local research teams with integrated policy and community connections in four of the most affected countries in the region (Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos) and experts from Australia with extensive experience in dealing with the public health and early life impacts of wildfires.