Empowering Action: Lessons from India’s Data Capacity Accelerator for Climate and Health

Creating a Granular CHVI and Establishing Causal Links Between Climate and Health Outcomes

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Fellow: Cyrus Reginald
Host Organisation:  Khushi Baby

About the Host Organisation
Khushi Baby provides an integrated health dashboard for state and district health officials, along with data collection apps, AI tools, and knowledge resources for community health workers. Operating primarily in Rajasthan, the organisation is expanding its support to government health initiatives in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Problem Statement and Project Objective

Health officials and community health workers currently lack tools to quantify the risks posed by climate change to public health and to design interventions that mitigate these risks.

The project aimed to:

  • Develop a monthly Climate Health Vulnerability Index (CHVI) for blocks and districts to assist in budget and resource allocation and measure intervention effectiveness.
  • Establish causal relationships between climate factors (e.g., temperature, humidity, rainfall) and health outcomes to predict disease loads and improve intervention strategies.

Approach and Methodology

Data Compilation:

  • Climate data: Google Earth Engine (GEE), WeatherAPI, Copernicus.
  • Health outcomes: Khushi Baby’s internal Community Health Integrated Portal (CHIP).
  • Socio-economic and behavioural data: CHIP and NFHS datasets.

Index Development and Causal Analysis:

  • Aggregated data by geographical (block/district) and temporal (monthly) units.
  • Used a vulnerability model incorporating exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity variables.
  • Applied Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for dimensionality reduction, regression models with fixed effects for causal analysis, and GIS modeling for climate variable interpolation.
  • Automated data pipelines for daily updates to the index and prediction models.

Results and Insights

  • Developed the Climate Health Vulnerability Index (CHVI), which is now live on Khushi Baby’s dashboard for health officials.
  • Early causal analysis revealed clear relationships, such as the link between acute respiratory diseases and particulate matter 2.5 levels. 

Outputs

  • Live Climate Health Vulnerability Index (CHVI) dashboard accessible to health officials.
  • Documentation of causal analysis, with potential academic publication in collaboration with partners.

Impact and Way Forward

The CHVI provides state-level decision-makers with insights into the climate-related stress faced by different regions, enabling improved resource allocation and budgeting. The index will be refined and scaled to two additional states, with plans for national expansion through partner organisations. Once causal relationships between climate variables and specific diseases are established, predictive models will be developed to forecast disease outbreaks, empowering health officials with actionable insights.

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