NIH Program on Health and Extreme Weather
NIH is uniquely positioned to lead this solutions-focused research initiative to reduce the health consequences associated with extreme weather and emerging weather-related harms. NIH has a strong history of creating innovative tools, technologies, and data-driven solutions to address global environmental problems.
The HEW Program works in close collaboration with the longstanding NIH Disaster Research Response (DR2) Program which provides tools and resources to facilitate and accelerate health research capacity to respond to disasters across the nation.
The NIH HEW Executive Committee
The NIH Program on Health and Extreme Weather (HEW) is led by an Executive Committee comprised of the directors of several NIH institutes and centers. NIEHS is the Program’s administrative home.
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
- Fogarty International Center (FIC)
- National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
- National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Strategic Framework
The NIH Health and Extreme Weather (HEW) Strategic Framework (6MB) presents the mission, goals, and objectives of the NIH HEW Program, as well as high priority scientific approaches. A product of the NIH HEW Executive and Steering Committees, this framework includes input from NIH Institute and Center directors, program staff, and scientists.
The framework is intended to guide NIH’s short- and medium-term investments by providing concepts and examples of research that would generate scientific knowledge and innovations to address the most critical risks to human health across the lifespan that are associated with extreme weather.
NIH HEW Interest Group
NIH established an interest group for the HEW Program. Members meet regularly to identify evolving areas of science, discuss new research findings, and hear from internal and external partners. The interest group represents a collaborative effort by Institutes and Centers across NIH to share knowledge and strengthen research capacity throughout NIH, and to increase understanding about the nature and behavior of living systems to enhance health, reduce illness and disability, and improve longevity and quality of life.
Community of Practice
The NIH HEW Program understands the critical need to create a global network of scientists, health practitioners, students, researchers, and educators who are actively engaged with the latest research into the health effects of extreme weather and natural disasters.
The HEW Research Coordinating Center (RCC) is a joint initiative by the Boston University School of Public Health and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The CAFE RCC has built a Community of Practice by managing and supporting research and capacity-building efforts at the intersection of health and extreme weather. The CAFE RCC aims to Convene, Accelerate, Foster, and Expand the health and extreme weather community of practice, both in the US and globally.
By convening stakeholders across government, NGOs, industry, researchers, and funders — CAFE fosters collaboration, accelerates research, and expands capacity for impactful solutions to protect communities across the globe.