Wellcome has committed £22.7 million ($27.9 million) to 24 research teams in 12 countries to develop digital tools that work to better predict where and when climate change-fueled infectious disease outbreaks will occur. It hopes policymakers will use these tools to serve as early warnings, helping them prepare for outbreaks in a way that is more preventive rather than reactive.
As temperatures increase, greater swaths of the world become fertile ground for mosquitoes that carry diseases such as dengue, and natural disasters contaminate water sources, leading to diseases like cholera, which has recently become turbocharged. As geographical ranges of species shift, new disease transmissions between species can also occur.
Over a billion people who hadn’t been at risk before could face infections of dengue, zika, chikungunya, and other diseases by 2080.
About the author
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.