Exciting Horizons project output: Two films on extreme heat, health workers & pregnancy
Two films on extreme heat, health workers & pregnancy
The HIGH Horizons project, coordinated by Ghent University and with research partners in Africa and Europe, has produced two short films that show the impact of extreme heat on pregnant women and newborn babies.
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Film 1: Extreme Heat & Pregnancy |
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This film follows pregnant and postpartum women navigating extreme heat in South Africa, capturing their lived experiences through the Photovoice participatory research method. Women documented their own realities: water scarcity, heat-trapping housing, long walks to clinics — generating the concept of "un-coping": the active, daily undoing of every adaptation effort when the environment makes those efforts impossible. The film asks why the health systems designed to protect these women are not yet designed for the world they live in. ▶ Watch: https://youtu.be/sofW-NzXQYE |
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Film 2: Heat & Health Facilities |
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This film documents the experience of nurses, midwives, and frontline health workers in maternity and neonatal facilities in South Africa's Tshwane region — where indoor temperatures regularly exceed 30°C, windows are sealed for newborn safety, and there are no functioning cooling systems. Through their own voices, we learn how extreme heat is affecting their wellbeing, their concentration, and the quality of care they can give. South Africa's National Climate Change Strategy does not mention health workers' wellbeing. This film makes the case for why that must change. ▶ Watch: https://youtu.be/rMF2yLW_BR0 |
