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SPD Spotlight: Sunway Centre for Planetary Health
In this blog series, we’ll be sharing the work of some of the signatories of the São Paulo Declaration on Planetary Health around the world. There are all kinds of organizations doing fantastic work within Planetary Health — if you are looking for ways to get involved in the movement, to strengthen the Planetary Health perspective of your own work, or to find inspiration and practical advice, be sure to follow this blog series and take a look at the work of these wonderful organizations.
What is the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health?
The Sunway Centre for Planetary Health (SCPH) is a ‘think-and-do tank’ located at Sunway University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It works to mainstream planetary health within higher education in Southeast Asia, promoting a Planetary Health framework to the forefront of all aspects of education, research, and policy development. As well as producing and facilitating expert scholarship on pressing Planetary Health issues, SCPH collaborates with a wide range of stakeholders (including local and national governments, NGOs, international bodies, and communities) to integrate a Planetary Health approach across multiple sectors.
How did the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health begin?
In late 2019, just before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, former Under Secretary General of the International Federation of the Red Cross, and Dr. Renzo Guinto, a recent Harvard doctoral graduate specializing in climate and health, conceptualized a centre for Planetary Health in Asia. Although the pandemic presented some significant challenges in getting the Centre up and running, it also emphasized the urgent necessity of bringing the Planetary Health movement to Southeast Asia. Jemilah, Renzo and their colleagues, Oliver Lacey-Hall and Maisarah Faiesall, used their diverse expertise to develop and present the concept to the Sunway Group, a Malaysian business conglomerate with a strong track record for practicing and advocating sustainable development. They were successful in obtaining funding to develop the Centre within Sunway University, an entity within the Sunway Group and one of the fastest-growing universities in Southeast Asia, and the Centre officially opened in August 2021.
Read more here.
What is the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health?
The Sunway Centre for Planetary Health (SCPH) is a ‘think-and-do tank’ located at Sunway University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It works to mainstream planetary health within higher education in Southeast Asia, promoting a Planetary Health framework to the forefront of all aspects of education, research, and policy development. As well as producing and facilitating expert scholarship on pressing Planetary Health issues, SCPH collaborates with a wide range of stakeholders (including local and national governments, NGOs, international bodies, and communities) to integrate a Planetary Health approach across multiple sectors.
How did the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health begin?
In late 2019, just before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, former Under Secretary General of the International Federation of the Red Cross, and Dr. Renzo Guinto, a recent Harvard doctoral graduate specializing in climate and health, conceptualized a centre for Planetary Health in Asia. Although the pandemic presented some significant challenges in getting the Centre up and running, it also emphasized the urgent necessity of bringing the Planetary Health movement to Southeast Asia. Jemilah, Renzo and their colleagues, Oliver Lacey-Hall and Maisarah Faiesall, used their diverse expertise to develop and present the concept to the Sunway Group, a Malaysian business conglomerate with a strong track record for practicing and advocating sustainable development. They were successful in obtaining funding to develop the Centre within Sunway University, an entity within the Sunway Group and one of the fastest-growing universities in Southeast Asia, and the Centre officially opened in August 2021.
Read more here.
