Thanks to Neil for referring to this project. Since it is so closely aligned with the vision of HIFA, here is a short report. Links to the editorial and list of journals are given below.
Under the aegis of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, chaired by former BMJ Editor Richard Smith, I led a project to publish an editorial on health and climate change simultaneously in as many health and biomedical journals as possible.
The target date was to start publishing just before the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27) takes place in Sharm-El Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022. Given the African venue of COP27, the editorial focuses on the severe and continuing impact of climate change on health in the African continent. The product of a team of 21 authors, most of them from the African continent, the editorial strongly makes the point that “wealthy nations must step up support for Africa and vulnerable countries in addressing past, present, and future impacts of climate change.” Africa is likely to suffer the worst effects of climate change despite having done the least to cause them.
Over 250 journals agreed to publish the editorial - a truly unpprecedented collaboration - including over 50 leading African journals, which is another first. The point of having all these journals publish the same editorial is to demonstrate the united will of the medical profession, including all areas (nursing, mental health, veterinary medicine, etc.), to combat the health effects of climate change. This has turned into a unique example of public speech.
Working with a team, but acting as the sole journals administrator of this project, I was confronted with 250 journals, each applying their own editorial styles and demanding details of 21 authors - affiliations, conflicts of interest forms, copyright statements, and so on. The potential for bureaucracy was truly spectacular. I am very happy to report that the journals helped me to cut corners and red tape wherever possible. I accumulated psychological bruises, some sleepless nights and a lot of learning, but on the whole am ready to do it again. And we will!
Links:
The editorial: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)01986-9/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_feature_lancetclimatecomm22_lancet (and 250 other addresses)
The participating journals: https://www.bmj.com/content/full-list-authors-and-signatories-climate-em...
UK Health Alliance on Climate Change: https://www.ukhealthalliance.org/
Chris Zielinski
chris@chriszielinski.com
Blogs: http://ziggytheblue.wordpress.com and http://ziggytheblue.tumblr.com
Research publications: http://www.researchgate.net
HIFA profile: Chris Zielinski: As a Visiting Fellow and Lecturer at the Centre for Global Health, University of Winchester, Chris leads the Partnerships in Health Information (Phi) programme, which supports knowledge development and brokers healthcare information exchanges of all kinds. He is the elected Vice President (and President-in-Waiting) of the World Association of Medical Editors. Chris has held senior positions in publishing and knowledge management with WHO in Brazzaville, Geneva, Cairo and New Delhi, with FAO in Rome, ILO in Geneva, and UNIDO in Vienna. He served on WHO's Ethical Review Committee, and was an originator of the African Health Observatory. He also spent three years in London as Chief Executive of the Authors Licensing and Collecting Society. Chris has been a director of the UK Copyright Licensing Agency, Educational Recording Agency, and International Association of Audiovisual Writers and Directors. He has served on the boards of several NGOs and ethics groupings (information and computer ethics and bioethics). chris AT chriszielinski.com. His publications are at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Chris-Zielinski and https://winchester.academia.edu/ChrisZielinski/ and his blogs are http://ziggytheblue.wordrpress.com and https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ziggytheblue
