Early warning systems for extreme weather to protect mental health in East African communities
Official title: Investigating pathways between climate and mental health and wellbeing and development and testing of localized, impact-based early warning systems for climate vulnerable communities in East Africa
Funded at Columbia Univ New York Morningside · NIH-11397212 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Develops and pilots localized early warning systems to help people in climate-vulnerable East African communities reduce the mental health harms of extreme weather.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Columbia Univ New York Morningside NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | September 23, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $243,089 |
| NIH project number | 5P20TW012808-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11397212 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are residents of climate-vulnerable East African communities—especially women and people living in floodplains, wetlands, informal settlements, pastoralist groups, or smallholder farms—who have experienced or are at risk from extreme weather events.
✕Less likely to help
People who live outside the targeted East African communities or whose mental health issues are unrelated to climate-related extreme weather are unlikely to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
As someone living in a vulnerable community, this project follows people in East Africa to understand how extreme weather like droughts and heatwaves affects mental health, wellbeing, and violence. The team will collect repeated (longitudinal) data and work directly with community members—especially women, people in informal settlements, pastoralists, and smallholder farmers—to map links between weather events and outcomes such as depression, suicidal thoughts, and intimate partner violence. Researchers will co-design localized, impact-based early warning systems with local health centers and community leaders and pilot those systems in selected areas. The aim is to create warnings and response plans that improve preparedness, reduce mental health crises, and support recovery after extreme weather.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the project could provide practical early warnings and community supports that reduce mental health crises, suicide risk, and violence after extreme weather events.
How similar studies have gone: Early warning systems have proven effective at reducing physical harms and economic losses, but using them specifically to prevent mental health problems and violence in low-income East African settings is relatively new with limited prior evidence.
Where this research is happening
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Columbia Univ New York Morningside
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Winter, Samantha C. — Columbia Univ New York Morningside
- Study coordinator: Winter, Samantha C.
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.