Climate change induced temperature rise and increasingly frequent heat waves can lead to adverse impacts, such as reducing workers’ health and productivity and even occupational accidents. The Center for Community Health and Development (COHED) has been working on Protecting Urban Livelihoods from Climate Change - Building Heat Stress Resilience Amongst Da Nang’s Most Vulnerable Workers.

The ACCCRN Network hosted a webinar entitled “Building Heat Stress Resilience in Da Nang, Vietnam” and presented by Lisa Buggy, Climate Change Project Advisor of The Center for Community Health and Development (COHED), on 30 March 2016. About 30 urban climate change and resilience professionals were in attendance to listen and share their experiences of the issue.

This webinar introduced participants to impacts threatening the health of urban workers in Da Nang, Vietnam, as temperatures rise and heat waves increase in frequency and severity. Lisa highlighted the measures put into place during the ACCCRN funded project, focusing on the role that private businesses, in particular those in the construction trade, can play in reducing the heat stress of their manual employees, who are particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures. Lisa also described how COHED works on advocacy regarding heat stress reduction at the national level. The webinar defines key recommendations from COHED at the local and national policy, city and cross-sectoral levels.

Cities in Asia are some of the most rapidly urbanizing in the world and heat stress constitutes a growing risk because of rising average temperatures and more frequent heat waves, both of which are due to climate change. For further information regarding this issue, send an email to Lisa Buggy: lisabuggy@cohed.org.vn.