Home / Health / WHO and AECF Convene Workshop to Fund Climate-Resilient Health in Africa
WHO and AECF Convene Workshop to Fund Climate-Resilient Health in Africa
20 Aug
Summary
- Governments, innovators, and partners chart new path to protect vulnerable communities
- Initiative aims to mobilize public and private capital for climate-resilient health systems
- Collaboration across sectors to unlock financial innovation and shield Africans from crises
On August 20, 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa and the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) convened a two-day regional workshop in Nairobi, Kenya to address the growing climate-related threats to Africa's health systems.
The workshop brought together governments, innovators, and partners to chart a new path for protecting the continent's most vulnerable communities. Participants co-developed a proposal to mobilize innovative financing for climate-resilient health systems, a critical initiative as rising heat waves, floods, and droughts push African health infrastructure to the brink.
"This initiative represents a new frontier in climate and health financing - one that centres resilience, equity, and innovation," said Dr. Jeremiah Mushosho, WHO Africa Regional Team Lead for Climate Change. "By mobilizing both public and private capital, and with the strategic guidance of the Adaptation Fund, we can unlock the scale of investment needed to safeguard Africa's future."
The workshop emphasized the need for cross-sector collaboration, with Victoria Sabula, CEO of AECF, stating, "To protect [African] communities, we must go beyond traditional aid and bring in the ingenuity and investment of the private sector." Gregoire Piller, External Relations Officer at WHO Regional Office for Africa, echoed this sentiment, highlighting the power of partnerships in fostering trust and unlocking financial innovation.
Delegates from Benin, Burkina Faso, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, alongside private sector and technical experts, identified financing tools, validated governance structures, and aligned project objectives with national and global climate priorities. The Adaptation Fund provided critical technical input to ensure the initiative's sustainability and scalability.
This marks one of the first regional efforts to design financing models that blend public and private capital to strengthen African health systems against climate-sensitive diseases, food insecurity, and extreme weather events.
