Background and Context

The world is witnessing major shifts in the global health landscape. Among these, the decrease in donor funding for climate-sensitive infectious and tropical diseases on the one hand, and the explosive growth of health threats such as arboviruses including dengue, as well as the persistent threat of malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) on communities worldwide are likely to be among the most defining factors of future health policy. 

 

Concurrently, 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 intensifying preventive actions [1]. Contributing factors include a wide and complex array of dynamics such as: rising temperature increases which create more favourable conditions for vectors of disease, like mosquitoes; 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. As a result, diseases including malaria, dengue and NTDs diseases 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].  

 

Despite significant gains and successes in global efforts to understand, monitor and respond to climate-vulnerable infectious and tropical diseases, significant and evolving funding gaps are now a major concern for eliminating these diseases. This is particularly concerning where substantial investments have already secured significant progress towards the control and elimination of diseases, which now face the real risk of being reversed. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that reductions in global health financing could reverse decades of progress, particularly in malaria-endemic regions [5]. In the case of Neglected Tropical Diseases, millions of people in the poorest and most marginalized communities risk losing access to life-saving treatments without sustained funding; diseases such as trachoma and lymphatic filariasis which were close to elimination in certain regions could resurge. Continued investment in efforts to eliminate infectious and tropical diseases is essential for safeguarding global health and promoting regional and international economic prosperity and stability. 

 

In response to these challenges, this WHA78 Side Event is looking to mobilize stakeholders to take stock of the current funding challenges as they evolve, share experiences and best practices, consider new resources, accelerate innovations, and scale up health system preparedness to combat climate-vulnerable infectious and tropical diseases with a focus on malaria, dengue and NTDs. 

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Event Objectives 
 

This multi-speaker event on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly (WHA) will create a platform to share first-hand experiences of funding challenges, whether from the recipient or funder’s perspective, as well as discuss needs and new financing strategies or platforms in the wake of decreasing donor funding for climate-sensitive infectious and tropical diseases like malaria, dengue, and NTDs. The event 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 policy makers, government leaders, funders and technical experts to share the challenges that their countries, research or programs are facing 
•    Bring together governments, innovators, and investors to discuss opportunities and solutions to these challenges
•    Catalyse discussions around solutions and best practices in order to issue a strong call to action on what is needed to sustain and accelerate health goals.

 

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Draft event agenda

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• Welcome and introduction: Alex Honjiyo (Health Finance Coalition) & Marianne Comparet (International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases, ISNTD) 

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• Policy remarks

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Dr Agnes Soares da Silva (Director, Department of Environmental Health Surveillance and Occupational Health & Secretariat of Health and Environmental Surveillance, DSAST/SVSA, Ministry of Health, Brazil​​)

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• Panel 1: Voices from the Frontlines – Realities of the Current Funding Crisis

This session will spotlight the first-hand experiences of national governments, implementers, and donors grappling with shrinking resources for climate-sensitive infectious diseases like malaria, dengue, and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Speakers will share the real-world impact of donor pullback on national programs and service delivery. The conversation will not only explore the scope of the funding challenge but will also outline where funding is urgently needed to bridge the gap as well as united messages and advocacy to catalyse this. This session sets the stage for a frank discussion about what must change to protect progress and lives.

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Thi Hanh Cao (Director of External Relations, Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, DNDi)

Sam Macintosh (Vice President, Global Strategic Partnerships, The END Fund) ​

Harald Nusser (Head of Global Health and Health Equity, Merck)

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• Panel 2: Innovating Financing to Sustain Progress 

This session will explore how innovative and blended financing models from across health, climate, and infrastructure sectors can be adapted and applied to malaria, dengue, and NTDs. Speakers will share examples such as performance-based financing, debt swaps, catalytic capital, and private investment approaches that are unlocking new resources in other domains. The discussion will examine how these mechanisms can be customized to fit the disease control space and what it will take to create enabling environments for such models to thrive. This is a solutions-focused dialogue to move from identifying the problem to scaling what works.

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​Madhavika Bajoria (Executive Director of the Health and Nutrition Platform, Asia Venture Philanthropy Network, AVPN)

John Fairhurst (Head of Private Sector Engagement, The Global Fund)​

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• Discussion and concluding remarks

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[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] Malaria progress in jeopardy amid foreign aid cuts. 11 April 2025. World Health Organization Departmental update. https://www.who.int/news/item/11-04-2025-malaria-progress-in-jeopardy-amid-foreign-aid-cuts

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