About us
We are a consortium of scientists across 10 countries in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, conducting research to increase knowledge about how heat is affecting pregnant and postpartum women, newborns, children, and the health workers who serve them – information vital to protecting these groups from increasing heat across the globe.
Think about the hottest you’ve ever felt…
Now turn that up a notch.
Imagine you are eight months pregnant tilling a field in the sun, or on your feet working on a sweltering, busy maternity or newborn ward. It’s not a pleasant mental image.
As climate change worsens, hotter weather like this will be on the rise across the globe. According to the World Meteorological Organization, there are six times as many heatwaves now than in the 1980s.
Pregnancy can be a time of strength, hope, and transformation, but while temperatures rise worldwide, increasing heat will bring serious challenges.
As the world continues to heat up, pregnant women, their newborns, young children, and the health workers who serve them will be at particular risk.
Evidence is mounting that heat exposure, including high temperatures from heat waves, is harmful for the health of these vulnerable groups.
When temperatures rise, more babies are born preterm and with low birth weight. Stillbirths rise. More pregnant women suffer from conditions such as gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes. Heat increases the likelihood of infant mortality as well as the risk of children developing conditions such as asthma, wasting, and diarrhoea.
Research also shows that those who are least responsible for the climate crisis, living in poorer settings in the global south, are most affected.
A rise in heat is happening right now, the world is getting warmer and warmer by the day. Somebody has to stand up, somebody has to act to protect the most vulnerable in our society from the impact of climate change, particularly heat.
Dr Gloria Maimela
HIGH Horizon founding researcher
Wits RHI, South Africa
We still have a lot to learn about how we can protect these vulnerable groups on an increasingly hotter planet. Enter HIGH Horizons.
Funding for the four-year project comes from the EU’s Horizon Research and Innovation programme and UKRI’s Innovate UK.
We are one of six projects in the EU Climate-Health cluster, joining forces to elevate discussions about climate and health across Europe.
Protecting maternal and newborn health is severely under-represented in current climate policies.
An analysis of 50 national and international climate policy documents showed that only 12% referred to maternal health. If progress on maternal, newborn, and child health is to be protected and maintained, this urgently needs to shift.
We hope to help with that change.
HIGH Horizons is a funder of The CHANCE Network, established in 2021 through the ENBEL-project with the aim of advancing networking, research, learning, policy, and financing for climate change and health in Africa. Our funding helps CHANCE strengthen regional engagements.
