From agriculture to education to public health, the CSC’s Evaluation Team illustrate the breadth of the areas in which Commonwealth Scholars and Alumni are working as part of their efforts to tackle the far-reaching impacts of climate change.

Commonwealth Alumnus Sirazoom Munira is currently supporting the Government of Bangladesh in its ongoing Presidency of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and Vulnerable Twenty (V20) as a Programme Officer for the CVF and V20 support program of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) based in Dhaka. In this article, she shares insights into her role with the CVF and V20 and Bangladesh’s leadership on national and global climate change commitments, ahead of COP26.

Emmanuel Mudaheranwa explains how his set of renewable energy scenarios will contribute towards Rwanda’s plans to achieve high-income status by the year 2050.

Sunday Sarah Fortunate, a Climate Change specialist, highlights her involvement in building relationships and accelerating the sharing of climate change knowledge among stakeholders across Uganda.

Countries must develop systems to monitor, respond, and build community resilience in the face of intensified natural disasters and severe weather patterns caused by climate change. Commonwealth Alumnus Carrol Margaret Helena Chan highlights the importance of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in preparing for natural disasters in the Pacific.

Adetunji Alex Adekanmbi explains how his work will increase the accuracy of the predicted impact which environmental change will have on the further release of carbon stored in soils, and how regenerative agricultural methods can mitigate the acceleration of climate change by helping to retain carbon in the ground.

Courtnae Bailey discusses the difficulties in securing financial investment for climate change adaptive projects within the Caribbean Small Island Developing States, and suggests ways to attract private investment which will, in turn, help build resilience to climate change.

Following field investigations in 2019, Josiane Gakou Kakeu sheds light on the successes and limitations of REDD+ pilot initiatives in Cameroon, which aim to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

Ngao Mubanga, an Environmental Specialist working with The World Bank, explains the main driving forces of deforestation in Zambia, and argues for the use of sustainable agriculture management and forest conservation through incentives such as carbon finance.

The winner of the 2020 Taylor & Francis Commonwealth Scholar Best Journal Article Prize and three fellow finalists summarise their pioneering research

Miraj Kobad Chowdhury explains the air-liquid culture (ALI) techniques he is practising in order to investigate exactly how respiratory viruses, such as the one responsible for COVID-19, infect human lung cells and define specific cell sensitivities to the infection.

Alpha Forna explains how inclusive research is making a difference in dealing with epidemics and pandemics, focusing on the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and more recently COVID-19.

Acha Anwi Therese, a nursing volunteer from Cameroon, demonstrates how health education plays an important role in the prevention of diseases through her healthcare delivery work to vulnerable populations and to those displaced by conflict.

Nanthini Arumugam, a Professor in the Department of Community Health Administration at the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), shares the challenges faced by nurses in India during COVID-19, and the efforts of teaching institutes in providing critical and responsive training to support healthcare professionals on the frontline, and to those currently studying.

Through the work of his organisation, OceansAsia, Teale Phelps Bondaroff shares findings on the impact of COVID-19 on marine plastic pollution, particularly the effect which disposable masks have had on this issue.

Margaret Atimango (2006 Distance Learning Scholar) and Gilbert Atuhe (a National Resilience Coordinator) discuss their work with Save the Children (a global children’s charity which aims to help every child reach their full potential) and explain how they are supporting communities and youth at risk of climate-led disasters in southwestern Uganda.

Marlene Attzs is a Lecturer in Economics at the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago. Her research has a primary focus on sustainable economic development issues confronting Caribbean Island States. She is also a Civil Society Advisory Governor (CSAG) to the Commonwealth Foundation, the Commonwealth agency for civil society.

Dr Keneth Iceland Kasozi, joined by Professor Susan Christina Welburn, Chair of Medical and Veterinary Molecular Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, describe the impact of One Health approaches in finding solutions to disease outbreaks.

Aashima Sharma explains the importance of developing wastewater treatment practices alongside industrial and agricultural expansion.

Matteo Cassini, Community Development Manager at Justice Defenders (formerly the African Prisons Project), explains his work to increase access to legal systems and the application of criminal law in Africa, and the impact of Commonwealth Professional Fellowships in helping to transform and strengthen access to justice.

Commonwealth Scholars Samuel Frimpong and Evans Lwimba share their experiences of deaf education in Ghana and Zambia and discuss developments which will improve educational inclusion in their respective countries.

Runcie C W Chidebe explains the direct benefits his Shared Scholarship is having on the work of his NGO, Project PINK BLUE – Health & Psychological Trust Centre, to improve health outcomes in Nigeria.

Oriyomi Modupe Okeyinka explains how her research into the utilisation of waste by- products as building materials has contributed to the development of sustainable and affordable housing.

Corey Drakes, a medical physicist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados, explains the shortfalls in radiation medicine in the Caribbean and his ongoing work to improve patient care.

This year, as part of the CSC’s growing programme of engagement, Commonwealth Scholars and Alumni were involved in a consultation on DFID’s High Volume Transport Project.

To mark International Year of Plant Health, Ida Wilson, a plant pathologist and Crop Health Consultant, explains the importance of plant health and the threats plants currently face across the globe.