Health Care Without Harm is pleased to announce that Shweta Narayan has joined its global climate team as International Climate and Health Campaigner. In this newly created role, Shweta will support and elevate Health Care Without Harm’s increasingly vibrant networks around the world representing doctors, nurses, and other health professionals advocating for a just transition away from fossil fuels and toward a healthy climate.
“The voice of health workers is critical in promoting actions that address the health impacts of climate change, and they are an important link between communities and policy makers. I am excited to work with diverse actors who are the backbone of the global health community and harness their collective strength to address the threats of climate change on public health,” Shweta says.
Based in India, Shweta is an environmental health researcher with over two decades of campaigning and advocacy experience in environmental justice issues. Her work has focused on providing legal, media, and scientific research support to the residents of pollution affected communities and workers exposed to toxic chemicals.
Shweta is not entirely new to Health Care Without Harm, having spent the past seven years leading its Healthy Energy Initiative in India. As part of the program, she worked closely with pollution-impacted populations, health professionals, public officials, and journalists to document and mitigate the health hazards of polluting industries, to seek support and justice for victims, and to coalesce around demands for policy change.
Shweta’s successful approaches have been influential throughout Health Care Without Harm’s global network and in the broader climate and health community. As an international organization with staff and partners on six continents, Health Care Without Harm encourages diverse perspectives and leadership, particularly from the Global South, as it works to tackle the immensely inequitable challenge of climate change.
“Shweta has demonstrated her extraordinary skill and impact as a researcher, coalition-builder, and communicator,” said Jennifer Wang, Associate Director for Health Care Without Harm’s International Climate Program. “We are thrilled to now have the opportunity to leverage her talents and insights to mobilize health professionals to accelerate climate action around the world.”
Shweta is a trained social worker with specialization in Criminology and Correctional Administration from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India.