BACKGROUND

Climate change and human health have become inextricably linked. As per WHO, climate change is the ‘single biggest threat facing humanity,’ with studies showing that climatic hazards have exacerbated 58% of infectious diseases worldwide, highlighting the need for preventive actions.[1] The primary contributing factors include:

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• Rising temperature increases which create more favorable conditions for vectors of disease, like mosquitos

• More frequent and intense events, like floods, amplify health risks by contaminating drinking water supplies, resulting in outbreaks of waterborne diseases

• Climate-driven migration causing shifts in temperature and precipitation patterns impact food and water resources, which can disrupt livelihoods.

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Diseases like malaria, dengue, and tuberculosis (TB) have been particularly exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. If unchecked, around 700 million more people could become vulnerable to malaria as a result of climate change.[2],[3] In the last two decades, the incidence of dengue fever has increased 10-fold, with now more than 4 billion people in 129 countries at risk of infection.[4] Densely populated countries in Asia, which are highly vulnerable to sea-level rise, storm surges, and flooding, contributing to nearly 56% of the global TB burden. [5],[6] 

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Despite intensifying global efforts to address climate-vulnerable infectious and tropical diseases, significant funding gaps remain a major concern for eliminating climate-vulnerable infectious and tropical diseases, including Malaria, Dengue, and TB. Investing in efforts to eliminate climate-sensitive infectious and tropical diseases is essential for safeguarding global health and promoting regional economic prosperity. Investing in efforts to eliminate climate-sensitive infectious and tropical diseases is essential for safeguarding global health and promoting regional economic prosperity.

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In response to these challenges, the international community is looking to mobilize new resources, accelerate innovations, and scale up health system preparedness to combat climate-vulnerable infectious and tropical diseases.

 

[1] Mora, C., McKenzie, T., Gaw, I.M. et al. Over half of known human pathogenic diseases can be aggravated by climate change. Nat. Clim. Chang. 12, 869–875 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01426-1

[2] https://www.who.int/globalchange/publications/quantitative-risk-assessment/en

[3] Climate change and the future of malaria | Malaria No More UK. (n.d.). https://malarianomore.org.uk/world-environment-day

[4] The Increasing Burden of Dengue Fever in a Changing Climate. 2022. Rockefeller Foundation. https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/insights/perspective/the-increasing-burden-of-dengue-fever-in-a-changing-climate/#:~:text=While%20climate%20change%20is%20indeed,needs%20to%20be%20addressed%20today.

[5] Kharwadkar, S., Attanayake, V., Duncan, J., Navaratne, N., & Benson, J. (2022b). The impact of climate change on the risk factors for tuberculosis: A systematic review. Environmental Research, 212, 113436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.113436

[6] Global TB Report 2024. https://www.who.int/teams/global-tuberculosis-programme/tb-reports/global-tuberculosis-report-2024

 

 

OUTCOMES
This multi-speaker, multi-panel event on the sidelines of the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) will create a forum to share and delineate current challenges faced, as well as advocate for new financing platforms in the wake of decreasing donor funding for climate-sensitive infectious and tropical diseases like malaria, dengue, and TB. The event will seek to highlight examples of such financing platforms, and will bring together voices from national governments, innovators, and investors seeking to work together, culminating in a call to action to address these challenges around the world.

Specific objectives include:
•    Provide a stage for government leaders and technical experts to share the challenges that their countries are facing
•    Bring together governments, innovators, and investors to discuss opportunities and solutions to these challenges
•    Issue a strong call to action on what type of investment governments need to meet their climate and health needs
 

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