EQUINET through TARSC and in association with regional (SATUCC, Talk AB[M]R) and international partners (Nossal Institute of Global Health, C Dora Brazil) in partnership with the ECSA Health Community is convening its 2026 online training and mentored case work to build HIA capacities in ESA countries. The course will provide materials and interactive presentations and will mentor HIAs proposed by participant teams to build understanding and practical skills to implement HIA, including strategic HIA. It will cover the purpose, legal basis and principles, the methods, evidence, analysis in, reporting of an HIA and the monitoring and communication of recommended actions. We will use online (zoom) training sessions in four course blocks, staggered at intervals between July 7 and October 22 2026 with time for practical work and online tutorials for teams to implement their own proposed HIAs. Applicants for the course are asked to read the further information on the course and the application requirements in the full call at the website below and to email their applications to the EQUINET secretariat before 5pm Southern Africa time June 3rd 2026 with HIA TRAINING in the subject line. We look forward to your participation!
Latest Equinet Updates
Climate change has displaced about 22 million people in Sub Saharan Africa, most migrating within Africa. By 2050 this figure is estimated to rise to 100 million people. Migration has been beneficial and has been happening for thousands of years. But this climate-induced migration is particularly disrupting low-income families, leaving women, children and older people behind as ‘trapped populations’ to manage lives with dwindling resources. This video podcast tells this story and what can be done to prevent and mitigate impacts of climate on migration that are widening inequalities and undermining well being, and to protect those affected in sending and receiving countries and along the route.
Climate-related challenges affect every experience and dimension of health equity in the region. EQUINET is exploring this in a series of cross-cutting webinars. In 2026 we are now engaging across regions and networks to understand where we have shared priorities and responses to build wider alliances in advancing health equity for climate justice. This webinar involved brief presentations from EQUINET and its network members in ESA and from UNU and three country speakers from SE Asia on the issues and actions on health and climate. Panellists and participants shared priorities between the two regions and where they may also have alliances on shared responses.
Across the world, the race to go green has sparked a new rush for critical minerals, like lithium, cobalt and rare earths to use in new technologies to replace the fossil fuels that harm the planet. Mines are expanding across east and southern Africa, taking over land, and forests. Huge quantities of minerals are being exported outside the region, suggesting a promise of incomes and wealth. But behind every shining electric battery lies a darker story. This video podcast presents issues raised in the dialogues in EQUINET on the challenges for health equity and climate justice of the extractive sector and the proposed responses for preventing these impacts.
This HIA examined the Small-Scale Mining and the Milling Operation in Bubi District, Zimbabwe. Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) and custom milling in Bubi District expose miners and communities to high risks of accidents, respiratory diseases, and chemical poisoning. An estimated 35% of miners suffer accidents, while 19% develop silicosis and a tuberculosis prevalence of up to 40%. Poor mining practices and management of custom milling effluent of mercury, cyanide, and heavy metals threaten the Mbembesi River, a water source for the downstream community and domestic animals. The projected health impacts raised a number of recommendations, including for: frequent inspection of mining sites and stronger regulatory enforcement; safer technologies; awareness campaigns to mitigate potential health impacts, as reinforced by the Public Health Act, Environmental Management Act, and Mines and Minerals Act; enclosed milling systems and automated controls to minimize dust and noise exposure for workers; and stricter requirements for waste discharge. The authors propose that a policy requiring Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and HIAs should be applied and enforced in all ASM operations as a condition for licensing.
This Health Impact Assessment (HIA) examined the health impacts of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in the Lualaba province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to assess the effectiveness and application of Ministry of Mines 2019 Decree N°19/15. The recommendations for improving and implementing the decree included legal revisions to enable voluntary retirement or redeployment of vulnerable workers; to include affected communities and local ASM associations in meetings and decisions impacting their wellbeing and promote improved living and working environments for ASM and adjacent communities. Recommendations to improve the decree’s implementation included encouraging informal artisanal and small-scale miners to join cooperatives; strengthening capacities to enforce the decree, together with training ASM associations on health and safety at work; intensifying the monitoring of the health and environmental impacts of mining activities in communities neighbouring ASM sites and developing remediation plans for environmental or health impacts.
This Health Impact Assessment (HIA) examined Zambia’s Minerals Regulation Commission Act No. 14 of 2024. The Act has been enacted and assented to on 20th December, 2024, but awaits regulations. The HIA examined the Act through the lens of specific health impacts of mining activities on the Copperbelt Province, drawing evidence from Kankoyo Township in Mufurila District. The projected health impacts raised recommendations for the Ministry of Mines and Community development to: Strengthen health and safety conditions in mining by mandating ventilation standards, personal protective equipment (PPE), ergonomic monitoring, and routine health checks.; Prevent mine-related air and water pollution by enforcing emission thresholds with real-time monitoring; and Legally bind developers to replace lost infrastructure and services such as health and education for displaced communities, where mining results in unavoidable displacement. The Ministry of Health was also recommended to ensure that health is embedded in local development plans through its own institutional mechanisms and community engagement.
Tanzania is an emerging critical minerals development frontier. This Health Impact Assessment (HIA) examined the inclusion of health impacts in the Tanzania draft Critical and Strategic Minerals Strategy. . This included the health impact of air and water pollution and hazardous work; of social changes in mining sites and the mental ill health impact of lack of engagement in mining plans. The projected health impacts led to recommendations, including for: monitoring, and managing health risks and outcomes for the various population groups and along different phases of the extractive process; legislating for mandatory HIA in all critical minerals projects; building key agency and community capacities to protect health; ensuring a mechanism for communities to monitor and report on mining compliance with environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards and requiring periodic reporting by state and mining companies on their engagement and awareness campaigns in affected communities.
EQUINET through TARSC in association with colleagues from the Global Climate and Health Alliance and Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul held an online meeting on Tuesday 30th September on 'Strategies for engaging with the public health impacts of climate change and fossil fuels". The meeting was attended by 42 participants from different countries and heard from two international presenters: Shweta Narayan, Global Climate and Health Alliance on a Public health strategy to challenge health and climate impacts of the fossil fuel industry, and Carlos Dora, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on Health impact assessment to respond to commercial determinants of climate change. The presentations were followed by discussion.
In recognition of the critical mass of people with health impact assessment (HIA) capacities in Zimbabwe and inclusion of HIA in Zimbabwe's Public Health Act (Chapter 15:09, 2018) the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) in co-operation with the Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC) and EQUINET invited key stakeholders to a meeting on Friday 22nd August 2025 to discuss practical steps for advancing regulatory guidance, capacities and implementation of health impact assessments in Zimbabwe. The meeting included an overview on HIA, presentation of HIA work already implemented in Zimbabwe, followed by discussion on proposals for priority sectors for HIA implementation, and the provisions in the Public Health Act and other laws related to HIA. This document reports the proceedings of the meeting.