CDC Foundation Supports Organizations Engaging Young People on Issues of Climate and Health

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Mar 07, 2023, 11:03 ET

Organizations will focus on youth-led and youth-centered education and outreach to help communities respond to climate-related health challenges.

ATLANTA, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Our changing climate poses an urgent and growing threat to human health. According to the World Health Organization, climate-driven factors like air pollution, disease, extreme weather events and food insecurity are already taking the lives of an estimated 13 million people every year. Young people are keenly aware of the significant implications long-term climate-related health issues have for their future, and they have become important contributors to efforts to find solutions. To support and encourage these young leaders, the CDC Foundation announced $550,000 in funding to 11 organizations across the United States focused on engaging young people in raising awareness about the connections between climate and health and helping their communities respond to environment-related health challenges.

Ongoing health impacts from our changing climate include increases in respiratory and cardiovascular disease, weather-related injuries and deaths, water-borne illness and other infectious diseases. In recent studies, nearly 60 percent of people between the ages of 16–25 cited climate change as a major source of anxiety and concern. Increasingly, young people are demanding action and are bringing their voices, energy and ideas to the fight against climate change. The organizations chosen to receive funding will build on this movement by promoting innovative youth-led and youth-focused outreach that will educate people about the health impacts of climate change and help communities develop climate-based health strategies to address and prevent these issues.

"We must seize every opportunity to come together to find ways to reduce the impacts of our changing climate and protect the health and wellbeing of all communities," said Judy Monroe, MD, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation. "We are proud to help amplify the voices of young people as they work to find innovative solutions to these critical public health concerns."

The funding will support organizations that span eight states and include cultural centers, educational institutions, environmental groups and other community organizations. The work of organizations receiving support may include community events, arts outreach, educational trainings and other activities aimed at increasing local capacity, preparedness and resiliency in response to climate-driven health challenges. While the program activities will be community-based, the work could potentially reach across multiple cities, counties and states.

The organizations receiving support are:

Action Network	Nature Nexus Institute
Borderlands Restoration Network	Project WET Foundation
BRAVE Communities	The Semilla Project
California Indian Museum and Cultural Center	STEM NOLA
Massachusetts Audubon Society	Wayne State University Center for Urban Studies
Native American Community Academy Foundation

About the CDC Foundation: The CDC Foundation helps the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world. The CDC Foundation is the go-to nonprofit authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners and private-sector resources to support CDC's critical health protection mission. Since 1995, the CDC Foundation has raised over $1.9 billion and launched more than 1,300 programs impacting a variety of health threats from chronic disease conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer, to infectious diseases like rotavirus and HIV, to emergency responses, including COVID-19 and Ebola. The CDC Foundation managed hundreds of programs in the United States and in more than 90 countries last year. Visit www.cdcfoundation.org for more information, and follow the Foundation on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.

SOURCE CDC Foundation