Commentary - The Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program: Indigenous climate leaders’ championing adaptation efforts

The Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program (CCHAP) is a program within the First Nations Inuit Health Branch of Indigenous Services Canada (which was previously under the responsibility of Health Canada). The CCHAP supports Inuit and First Nation communities in mitigating and adapting to the h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada
Main Authors: Gabrielle Richards, Jim Frehs, Erin Myers, Marilyn Van Bibber
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
French
Published: Public Health Agency of Canada 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.39.4.03
https://doaj.org/article/6bb615b9dbbf49c6a46bee94370e01d1
Description
Summary:The Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program (CCHAP) is a program within the First Nations Inuit Health Branch of Indigenous Services Canada (which was previously under the responsibility of Health Canada). The CCHAP supports Inuit and First Nation communities in mitigating and adapting to the health impacts of climate change. The impacts of climate change on Indigenous health can be observed in multiple areas including, but not limited to, food security, cultural medicines, mental health and landbased practices. This program seeks to address the needs of climate change and health in First Nation and Inuit communities to support resiliency and adaptation to a changing climate both now and in the future through its emphasis on youth and capacity building. The commentary is based on the Program’s eleven years of experience working with and for Indigenous communities and provides an overview of the CCHAP model and the work it has and continues to support. This paper demonstrates three examples of community-based projects to mitigate and adapt to the health impacts of climate change to demonstrate climate change resiliency within Indigenous communities.