Global funds to tackle climate-driven health issues grow to $7.1bn but ‘still falls short’

While the escalating impact of climate change is likely to have profound impact on people, with some estimates showing it could cause more than 15 million deaths between 2026 and 2050, the funding to tackle climate-driven health issues is still not enough.

Findings unveiled at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday showed that funds for climate and health, provided by the public, private, and philanthropic sectors, had increased to $7.1 billion in 2022, a significant jump from the less than $1 billion committed in 2018. However, experts say the funds are not landing where they are needed most.

Dr Naveen Rao, senior vice president of health at The Rockefeller Foundation, said the jump indicates the trend is moving in the right direction, but “the overall amount of funding still falls far short of what is needed to protect lives and livelihoods from the devastating impacts of climate change”.

“Donors from the public, private, and philanthropic sectors must increase their commitments to climate and health, while also making sure that funding reaches the communities that need it most,” said Dr Rao. The analysis assessed climate health projects.

Funds not reaching those who need it most

Less than 50 per cent of overall funding made it to low-income countries, according to the paper which was titled Resourcing Climate and Health Priorities: A Mapping of International Finance Flows, and compiled by philanthropist firm Foundation S – the Sanofi Collective, the UAE's Reaching the Last Mile, and The Rockefeller Foundation.

“Well-financed climate action is an opportunity to transform countries and economies and achieve health and well-being for all,” said Nassar Al Mubarak, chief executive of Reaching the Last Mile. “As the report demonstrates, now is the time to invest in more ambitious, co-ordinated and accessible funding, delivered where it is needed most.”

Vanina Laurent-Ledru, director general of Foundation S said that countries on the front lines of climate change urgently need more accessible financing to protect their population’s health.

“Business as usual is no longer an option. Public, private, and philanthropic collaborations can help to fast-track flexible finance directly to local communities so they can urgently build climate-resilient health systems,” she said.

The report called on donors, civil society, academia and policymakers to support countries in obtaining financing by increasing the overall amount available, support local decision makers as well as speeding up and simplifying the overall process.

The paper states that integrated planning of climate and health investments is a key success factor for countries to access funding. Currently, more than 90 per cent of Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans, which are national climate plans and targets under the UNFCC often include health considerations, but are often focused on goals such reducing emissions. Most countries lack a clear picture of the financing needed to address climate and health goals. The paper's authors stress a clear need to translate growing political commitment into actionable, financeable plans that enable the implementation of climate and health solutions across society.

Eliminating dangerous diseases

The Reaching the Last Mile initiative was launched in 2017 by President Sheikh Mohamed with the aim of tackling preventable diseases in low-income communities.

One of the programmes under Reaching the Last Mile is the Reaching the Last Mile Fund a multi-donor partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At COP28, Reaching the Last Mile joined with the Gates Foundation and global partners to announce a landmark expansion of the fund from $100 million to a target $500 million.

Over the past decade, Sheikh Mohamed has pledged more than $470 million to enhance health outcomes globally, according to Reaching the Last Mile's website with the funds focusing on providing treatment and preventive care to communities without access to quality healthcare. The initiative specifically targets the elimination of diseases in the most remote and underserved regions.

Thanks to co-ordinated global efforts, Guinea worm disease and polio are on track to become the next human diseases to be eradicated, following smallpox’s successful eradication in 1980.

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