Why (only) talk about healthcare at COP

Climate change and fighting disease aren’t separate. They increasingly converge in Africa

November 21, 2025

Welcome to Green Rising – The world's largest climate forum has launched the first coordinated health fund. Finally.

More than 35 leading global philanthropies created the Climate and Health Funders Coalition and committed an initial $300 million for climate-health at COP30 in Brazil. 

The funders include Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Wellcome. This is the first venture of its kind and potentially game-changing. 

The focus is among other things on the health impact of extreme heat, air pollution and climate-sensitive infectious diseases in Africa. 

Climate-linked health burdens are at last getting serious attention. And not just at COP. Last month, Bill Gates wrote in a high-profile essay: “It’s time to put human welfare at the center of our climate strategies.”

That sums up a growing trend among a part of the climate community that has digested the public onslaught by deniers and charlatans over the past year. A growing number – including us – see vaccines and medical infrastructure as core to future climate action, or whatever it will be called (enthusiastic subscribers asked to see the image below from last week again…). 

The benefits of focusing climate action on healthcare will be obvious to the public in a way that many other mitigation and adaptation measures may not. It could be critical to winning back public support lost in part in the past year. 

Post-COP, expect much more talk about how humans are and will be impacted by climate change – not just frogs, fields and forests. 

In Africa, where the impact is most pronounced, millions of humans may die or catch diseases due to environmental changes. (We’ve been saying that for a while, here, here and here.) 

Focusing on climate-health now has a chance to reclaim the narrative. People care about people. People understand people. Environmental changes will be a human crisis to many, even more than a “climate crisis”, which sounds abstract and is hence more easily ignored.

If the bad news is that the health of millions of Africans is threatened by changes in the climate… Then the good news is that climate-health measures are making significant if little seen progress on the continent. 

We have rounded up a variety of initiatives, innovations and policies that amount to a quiet revolution in climate-health. 

  • Africa is getting an accelerated vaccine pipeline in a new partnership. The Bio Investments Group and the International Vaccine Institute have agreed on a project to accelerate vaccine manufacturing, clinical trials and workforce development in Africa. The partnership is designed to reduce pharmaceuticals import dependence and strengthen local capabilities for public health emergencies.

  • A new climate-smart agreement between UNAIDS and the Africa CDC will support the sourcing, training, reskilling, and deployment of over two million community health workers across Africa. This will support access to care in hard-to-reach rural and emergency settings. It targets outreach to populations most at risk of being left behind during climate crises and emergencies.

  • The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, have announced a $1 billion partnership to improve sustainable health and immunisation financing. This initiative focuses on investments in vaccine procurement and immunisation infrastructure in middle-income countries and those transitioning away from Gavi support.

  • Roche Diagnostics Africa and the African Society for Laboratory Medicine have launched a three-year programme aimed at strengthening laboratory leadership and improving access to quality diagnostic services on the continent. The initiative will be implemented in collaboration with national health ministries, technical experts and academic institutions.

High-level attention and investment has acted as a signal to the pharmaceutical sector to focus more on local manufacturing in Africa. Most drugs are imported at the moment. That leaves many supply chains vulnerable to climate-related disruptions. 

  • Kenya is building a $250 million vaccine manufacturing plant on the outskirts of Nairobi in partnership with the International Vaccine Institute and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. The project is expected to expand local vaccine production, research capacity and position Kenya as a regional hub for vaccine manufacturing in Africa.

  • A Nigerian health technology company, Codix Bio, will begin manufacturing rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) following a technology transfer from the global in-vitro diagnostics firm, SD Biosensor. This development comes after Codix Bio signed a sub-licensing agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool, under the auspices of the World Health Organisation.

  • The Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC) is rolling out $3.2 billion in financing and grants to boost African pharmaceutical and vaccine production. The new funding will support local manufacturers who can meet international quality standards.

These points of light across the African healthcare sector could gain significance beyond their direct potential and impact on wellbeing. Will they tie into a new narrative around climate goals?

They can and should. Climate leaders in Africa have a chance to go on the offensive in public now. The continent will be the host of COP32, the shindig after the next, so it was decided this week. Twenty-four months from now the climate world will assemble in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Starting today, the focus should be on benefitting the African people and their wellbeing. 

Number of the week

… is the increase in the number of senior employees at the top 25 African electric vehicle companies over the past year. Senior sales personnel grew by 67%. Vroom-vroom.

Network corner

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👉 Dr Douw Faurie at South Africa’s Tshwane University of Technology is breaking new ground in green hydrogen storage technology

EVENTS UPDATE 

📆 Join for the E-Mobility and Infrastructure Summit Kenya (Nov 26)

📆 Attend the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit in South Africa (Nov 27)

📆 Sign Up for the Africa Startup Conference in Algeria (Dec 6)

ALSO PLEASE SEE OUR JOB BOARD BELOW

What we’re reading

  • EV surge: Global automakers are accelerating electric vehicle (EV) assembly in Africa, marking a strategic shift from mere market presence to local production hubs. This surge responds to rising demand, regional bans on used car imports, and efforts to reduce costs by localizing supply chains. Incentivizing investment and collaboration with local firms for assembly and technology transfer are fuelling the trend. These developments boost job creation, skills, and supply chain localization, positioning Africa as a growing player in the global EV landscape and spurring green industrialization across the continent. (Mobility Rising)

  • Circular momentum: Africa is rapidly becoming a leader in the circular economy, moving from fragmented waste initiatives to coordinated, continent-wide systems driven by innovation, government policies, and investment. Notable examples include Kenya Airways’ verified low-carbon flight, Seychelles' Deposit Refund Scheme for PET bottles, and investments in waste-to-energy projects in Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast. Kenya also leads with EasyFEN™, a waste-to-fertiliser technology. Africa’s circular economy, supported by regional action plans and private funding, is transforming waste management, boosting green industries, and creating economic opportunities vital for sustainable growth and climate resilience. (Circular Rising)

  • Swaps upswing: Debt-for-climate swaps are trending as Africa’s innovative finance tools addressing soaring debt and climate vulnerability. Egypt and Germany recently signed a $58 million swap to fund wind farm grid connections, while Kenya secured $69 million for geothermal energy. Countries like Cabo Verde, Zambia, and Angola also explore swaps for renewables and conservation. Germany is a key player, offering swaps capped at around $174 million annually. Though promising, debt swaps remain a small part of climate finance, challenged by complex negotiations and concerns over greenwashing. Experts urge combining swaps with green bonds and institutional support to scale impact across Africa. (Renewables Rising)

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