Harare — The British Council and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation have launched a three-year programme designed to tackle causes of climate change.

The initiative, being held under the theme "Our Climate, Our Future", will be conducted in three phases, namely awareness, implementation and lobbying.

Speaking at a stakeholders' meeting held in Harare last week, Dr Prisca Mugabe, a climate change expert at the University of Zimbabwe, said there was need for behavioural change to tackle climate change.

"People need to move away from their habit of protecting their boundaries, unrealistic expectations and poor delivery," she said

Deputy Director of Environmental Health in the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare Mr Naboth Mawoyo said Government last year launched a national health strategy, which partly addresses climate change.

"The programme has evidence-based research, it has objectives, strategies and outcomes for each and every area. Emergency preparedness, response and recovery to climate change-related conditions are also addressed in the programmes to tackle health risks and hazards," he said. Participants who attended the meeting visited Mukuvisi Woodlands where they planted a tree.