Planetary Health

Background Statement

Our care for the planet we share and the life on it stems from scientifically backed understanding on the repercussions of our daily interactions with Earth. However, as the developed world has picked on the significance of planetary care, Africa still has a lot to catch up on the quest for a clean and healthier planet for all life.

We have embarked on this quest joining the race in analyzing and sharing Planetary impacts of our actions via selected science advocacy initiatives, science communication seminars, and programs focused on building climate and planet care literacy. Under this body, we encourage dedicated advocacy programs, joint research and publication about planetary health, and leverage our network and platforms to share information on global concerns.

Vision

A forerunner in the transition to a healthy planetary lifestyle on the African continent.

Mission

To facilitate initiatives and actions geared towards a balanced scientific understanding of our planet and existential implications of our interaction with it.

Objectives

Program Initiatives & Stakeholders

We are commencing with an awareness campaign because we understand the lifestyle and psychological impact demanded of the African communities in adopting Planetary care. Here the goal is on building emphasis across five key stakeholder blocks identified and running programs suited to each group for maximum impact and qualified results. The stakeholder block includes Academia, Governance, Media, Industry, and the Public.

Academia

The academic community is expected to play an important role in the rapid adoption of planetary health ideas and be most receptive to its ideals. They have a responsibility in teaching scholars and producing peer-reviewed publications that are central to effecting changes in public policy. The following programs would be considered for implementation within academia based on available resources.

  • Commissioning research groups on the different areas of planetary health
  • Research grant to undergraduates to conduct research studies in planetary health
  • Essay competition for undergraduates on planetary health
  • Building a digital library/resource center on planetary health
  • Planetary health lecture series

Governance

Attaining the level of political commitment necessary to record moderate gains requires bringing political office holders and policymakers to a reasonable depth of understanding of what planetary health means and the urgency with which we need to act to save our civilization. Therefore, the following programs are been proposed:

  • High-level engagement and advocacy meetings with relevant government parastatals and officials to spread awareness.
  • Sponsoring bills and lobbying the parliament for the amendment of existing laws to aid the great transition to planetary health.
  • Advocacy on curriculum review for the inclusion of planetary health early on and in several disciplines.

Media

Leveraging the new media is key to getting the message to the youths and millennials who should be rightly concerned with planetary health issues. Media is a very powerful and potent way of raising awareness and influencing new lifestyles that are more compatible with sustainable living and our natural systems. We plan to do the following:

  • Conduct Science communication on planetary health through new media by setting up media accounts for promotion and engagement on popular media platforms.
  • Run regular columns and interview people on planetary health especially in local languages
  • Run programs on traditional media channels such as radio and television

Industry

The real and easily quantifiable transformation would be in how we meet our most existential needs and do our daily transactions. The footprint of our industrial operation contributes the most to the degradation of natural support systems. One of the key indicators of success would be being able to convince industries to rethink their processes and adopt planetary health methods in production. We plan to engage them through the following initiatives:

  • Industry-specific webinars on planetary health
  • Collaboration with industry to facilitate understanding of planetary health by offering planetary health internship positions
  • Virtual and Onsite training and workshops on planetary health framework

Public

The perception and opinion of the general public are important in changing the narrative of how we sustain growth, development, and our current civilization. Providing platforms and spaces for continuous engagement with and within the public is key to the spread of positive awareness. We would be starting with the following programs: 

  • Establishing Planetary health clubs
  • Planetary health podcast

Our Planetary Health Team

Oloruntoba Odumosu

Dr. Damilare Faniran

Iyiola Oladunjoye