The Global Fund and African Civil Societies reaffirm commitment to support a community-led response to climate change – updates

The Global Fund and African Civil Societies reaffirm their commitment to supporting a community-led response to climate change

May 10, 2024

– The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the “Global Fund”), African civil societies and communities disproportionately affected by communicable diseases, gathered yesterday for a conference 18th International Conference on Social Adaptation to Climate Change (CBA18) in Arusha, Tanzania, to reaffirm its strong commitment to strengthen cooperation to construct and strengthen climate-resilient health systems within the face of climate change.

CBA18 is a forum where participants share lessons learned and best practices on community-based and locally-led approaches to climate change adaptation. Together they’re exploring opportunities to place into practice the principles of locally-led adaptation for a climate-resilient future.

Climate change is increasing extreme weather events, forced displacement, poorer air quality and greater food, water and economic insecurity – all of which have negative impacts on health. A month before CBA18, latest drought left tens of millions of individuals in South Africa facing famineone sec Kenya and Tanzania were hit by floods over the past month – each effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

Climate change poses the best threat to the Global Fund’s mission to eliminate HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and construct resilient and sustainable health systems. During COP28, the Global Fund announced that greater than 70% of its funding – over $9 billion over the subsequent three years – shall be spent within the 50 countries most vulnerable to climate change to support health programs that also need to handle the climate crisis.

At CBA18 Global Fund and its partners – ALMA, ALSO, HEPS in Uganda, ITPC, Sensational, COPPER AND Speak up, Africa – hosted two sessions: “Resilient Communities, Healthy Futures” and “Community Engagement and Advocacy in Climate and Health Decision-Making Spaces.” Highlighting the link between climate change and health, participants discussed climate health tools, interventions and approaches to extend community health resilience.

“A conversation about climate is a conversation about health because climate threats such as floods impact health systems for the most vulnerable populations, especially in Africa,” said Prince Ansah, program manager, Ghana CDKN. “In many cases, floods have destroyed limited hospital infrastructure, road networks, vital medical supplies and human resources, affecting thousands of people. If saving lives is at the heart of the climate change debate, health care must be part of that integral conversation.”

Highlighting progress within the fight against malaria in countries through community-led efforts, participants also expressed concern that climate change poses a particular and urgent threat to malaria control and elimination efforts. Changes in rainfall, temperature and humidity spread disease to areas which might be unprepared and under-equipped to forestall, detect and treat malaria, equivalent to the highlands of Kenya and Ethiopia.

“The African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) is working to put climate change and health, including malaria and neglected tropical diseases, on the agenda of African heads of state and government,” said Aloyce Urassa, public health specialist and chair ALMA Youth Advisory Board. “We are working to provide support for countries to integrate climate change and health indicators into the Scorecard tools for accountability, advocacy and action.”

Participants also discussed climate inequality, highlighting the role of gender and age dynamics.

“Climate inequality disproportionately impacts low-income and marginalized communities, exacerbating existing inequalities in political power, policies, practices and financing that also contribute to health disparities,” said Simon Kaboré, regional executive director of Réseau d’ Accès aux Médicaments Essentiels (RAME ). “A wide range of climatic and social factors, including those related to gender and age, influence the ability of people and communities to access health services. Therefore, support for adapting community-led solutions to climate change must focus on raising their awareness so that they can find tailored and context-specific solutions.”

“Women are more likely to suffer from malnutrition and have less access to medical services than men; climate change could make this situation worse,” said Maelle Ba, senior communications manager at Speak Up Africa and co-chair RBM Partnership to End Malaria Strategic Communication Partners Committee. “This conference is a unique opportunity for Speak Up Africa and our community ESSENTIAL VOICES an initiative to learn more about the community-led, gender-responsive solutions implemented by our climate partners and explore opportunities to co-create climate-resilient gender issues in Africa.”

Overall, participants called for breaking down silos between climate and health risks to make sure effective decision-making. They also suggested using community voices to focus on and make clear the interconnectedness of health and climate, and urged the implementation of strategies that address each climate resilience and health equity.

“As the impacts of climate change continue to impact communities around the world, increased efforts to support those most affected by the climate crisis are urgently needed,” said Seonmi Choi, senior advisor for climate change and environment on the Global Fund. “This conference provided a platform, even inside the Global Fund partnership, to have key conversations about how best to integrate climate resilience into community systems. Our partners develop efficient and effective solutions that allow us to expand our knowledge.

The need for stronger cross-sectoral integration was further confirmed by various delegates and organizers of the CBA18 conference.

“We are pleased to bring together health stakeholders in the climate space for the first time at CBA18 in partnership with the Global Fund,” said Tom Mitchell, executive director of climate change. IIED. “It served as a great platform to strengthen cooperation between them. People’s health and the planet are interconnected – we cannot achieve climate resilience without health protection. Therefore, we must face these challenges holistically. We look forward to continued collaboration within the Global Fund partnership.”

Global Fund Strategy for 2023-2028 [ download in عربي | 中文 | Deutsch | English | Español | Français | Italiano | 日本語 | Português | Русский ] puts people and communities at the middle of the fight against HIV, TB and malaria, while accelerating the transition to more integrated, people-centered models of prevention, treatment and care. It also explicitly addresses the risks and impacts of climate change and provides the Global Fund with the chance to have a look at revolutionary ways to mitigate, mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.