LOS ANGELES, Feb. 23, 2022- often regarded as the 'Nobel Prize for the Environment' - has been awarded to British physician Sir Andy Haines, one of the first scientists to sound the alarm that changes to the natural environment have dangerous implications for human health.
Haines worked as a family doctor and researcher before realizing that the greatest thing he could do for human health was to reveal its critical connection to the health of our planet. He has since committed over three decades to understanding and working to prevent the impacts of environmental change, especially climate change, on human health.
Tyler Prize Executive Committee Chair Julia Marton-Lefèvre said that since identifying this crucial interlinkage in the early '90s, Haines has worked urgently to establish the evidence base for global climate action and policy change.
"As a leader in Planetary Health, Sir Andy's findings have been a wake-up call for humanity. He has focused his life's work on building international, multidisciplinary research and collaborations that form strategies and policies to protect global health - especially in vulnerable low-income countries - in our rapidly changing planet."
Haines, who is Professor of Environmental Change and Public Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said it is a "great honor and privilege" to be selected as the recipient of the 2022 Tyler Prize.
"I think it reflects the growing awareness that climate change isn't just about damaging the environment - according to the World Health Organization, 'climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity'. From the effects of extreme heat and wildfires to effects on infectious disease transmission, food supply, migration, poverty... climate change can affect health in so many ways."
Tyler Prize Official Citation: "Sir Andy Haines is being recognized for his contributions in understanding the effects of climate change on public health, his leadership in expanding the scope of public health to one of Planetary Health, and for his mentorship of the next generation of health scientists and practitioners in preventive environmental health actions in the 21st century."
The Tyler Prize is administered by the University of Southern California.
This is an abbreviated press release. Full version in press kit here.
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