Factor health into adaptation finance, says Climate Centre study
Finance for adaptation is not sufficiently targeting the countries most vulnerable to the climate crisis and falling short of needs in the health sector, indicates research from Climate Centre funded through the ENBEL project.
By Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre
The full study was published 14 June 2023 in PLOS Global Public Health. Preliminary findings were released in 2021 in the run-up to the UN climate talks at COP 26 in Glasgow.
Projects reported by donors as related to health in some way in the decade 2009–19 comprised nearly 5 per cent of total adaptation funding, or US$ 1.4 billion, the research finds; a closer look at the actual contents of proposals, however, suggests the true spend on health is significantly lower.
The Climate Centre scoping review found that out of 52 multilateral projects tagged for health it looked at, this was the principal focus of just ten, which represented US$ 45.9 million or just 0.5 per cent of multilateral adaptation finance. These projects focused on the prevention and control of infectious diseases and strengthening health systems.
Among important barriers to greater multilateral funding are a lack of communication with the health sector on opportunities, and limited contact between health actors and climate change processes, according to the World Health Organization and the CHANCE network.
Limited capacity for the development of proposals, the absence of health departments from national climate planning, and the failure of health-sector leaders to prioritize climate are other factors.
The Climate Centre calls for adaptation finance that actually goes beyond UNFCCC obligations, with funding channelled to support the inclusion of health in national adaptation plans and the establishment of adaptation focal-points in health ministries.
This research finds most funding went toward projects in Sub-Saharan Africa; other areas with a significant number of projects include East Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Middle East and North Africa has largely been left out, with only two projects and 2 per cent of what funding there is.
Climate Centre health lead Meghan Bailey said: “The focus should be on how best to finance and strengthen health systems so they can cope with the changing health burden the climate crisis is bringing, while prioritizing countries especially vulnerable to health impacts.
“We have to see this finance gap closed to avert the risk of catastrophic health impacts.”
This article was published first on the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre news site.
Solomon Islands Red Cross volunteers on a door-to-door awareness campaign against dengue fever in Gizo, the capital of Western province. Above-normal rainfall in some areas increased mosquito breeding sites, contributing to dengue outbreaks. This and other health issues were high on the agenda at a Pacific Islands climate outlook conference in Apia, Samoa. (Library photo: Benoit Matsha Carpentier/IFRC)