How can climate change and its interaction with other compounding risks be considered in evaluation? Experiences from...

Area of Science:

• One Health
• Food Safety
• Climate Change Adaptation

Background:

• Evaluations are crucial for learning from context in One Health programs.
• Integrating climate change considerations into program evaluations remains unclear.
• Existing evaluations may not fully capture the complexities of climate change impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how climate change and its interactions influence One Health food safety programs.
• To understand the perceived and experienced impacts of climate change on food safety initiatives.
• To identify how climate change interacts with other contextual factors in program implementation.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative evaluation study of the SafePORK program in Vietnam.
• Integration of climate change-specific questions into remote interviews.
• Interviews conducted with program researchers (n=7) and participants (n=23), including slaughterhouse workers and retailers.

Main Results:

• Researchers acknowledged potential climate change impacts but lacked concrete evidence.
• Program participants reported direct experiences and adaptations to climate change effects.
• Climate change interacted with other factors, increasing program complexity.

Conclusions:

• Assessing climate factors is essential for robust program evaluations.
• Building adaptive capacity within One Health food safety programs is critical.
• Future evaluations should incorporate climate change resilience strategies.