Dr. Praveen Kumar, Network Lead for the Grand Challenge to Create Social Responses to a Changing Environment, was an inaugural NIH Climate and Health Scholar. He recently facilitated an NIH wide lecture that was attended by approximately 250 participants. The lecture was featured in an op-ed in NIH’s biweekly newsletter, Record. Watch the recorded lecture here.
“Dr. Praveen Kumar, an NIH climate and health scholar at Boston College, recently gave a virtual lecture titled “Environmental Justice and Well-Being: Centering Women’s Empowerment to Improve Energy Access Among Poor Communities of Rural India.”
The NIH Climate Action plan acknowledges age and gender as key social and behavioral factors that influence susceptibility to climate-led impacts. Research shows climate change affects women and girls disproportionately in comparison to men and boys. Kumar has devised a method of individual-level climate adaptation strategies that also empower women.
“Women’s empowerment is key to changing behavior and building capacity for climate adaptation,” he said. He studies implementation science by evaluating methods and strategies that enable the uptake of evidence-based practice and research.
Kumar’s case study focused on rural India, where many people do not have consistent access to electricity.” – NIH Record
Watch the recorded lecture here.