Mongabay Profiles HIH’s Chief Health & Innovation Officer Dr. Sakib Burza
As newly promoted Chief Health & Innovation Officer, Dr Sakib Burza will be overseeing medical programs, research initiatives, duty of care, and scale, drawing on a wealth of global experience and expertise in healthcare, research, and organizational growth.
In a new interview with Mongabay, Dr Burza shares how an upbringing amidst nature’s grandeur in Indian Kashmir, a doctorate in medicine and a master’s degree in public health in developing countries, and 20 years with Médecins Sans Frontières [Doctors Without Borders] shaped his journey towards working with Health In Harmony.
“I repeatedly saw the health responses to drought, population displacement, and climate shocks,” Dr Burza tells Mongabay, “I evolved into realizing that I would like to work on something that was more to deal with the source of the problem rather than having to deal with the symptoms.”
As a passionate advocate of planetary health, Dr Burza believes “Healthy humans without a healthy planet is a logical fallacy”. He explains:
“I think the idea that you could have healthy humans without a healthy planet or a healthy planet without healthy humans is a logical fallacy. We’re in the Anthropocene now and the changes in the world are primarily happening because of humans. And if we aren’t able to keep the environment healthy, we’re not going to be able to keep humans healthy. We see the impact on public health and there’s increasing evidence that’s coming up that demonstrates how important good environmental conditions are to human thriving.”