PHOTO ;By AI
As climate shocks intensify across Africa, two major global development actors, The Rockefeller Foundation and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), have announced a new collaboration aimed at helping health systems adapt to rising climate threats in Senegal and Uganda.
The $1.4 million joint investment, announced during the Pan-African Conference on Environment, Climate Change, and Health in Nairobi, Kenya, aims to strengthen governance, evidence generation, and financing mechanisms that will enable both countries to anticipate, respond to, and mitigate the health impacts of climate change more effectively.
The initiative is being facilitated through The Rockefeller Foundation’s public charity, RF Catalytic Capital, Inc. (RFCC), as part of a broader continental effort to align public health planning with climate resilience strategies.
Strengthening Health Governance in Senegal
In Senegal, the Foundation and IDRC will invest $700,000 through the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) in partnership with the Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE).
The effort will directly support the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene to strengthen institutional and technical capacity for climate-health governance and to identify adaptation priorities.
According to Dr. Codou Badiane Mané, Climate and Health Focal Person at the Ministry, the collaboration comes at a crucial time when Senegal is integrating climate resilience into its national health agenda.
“Our ambition is clear: to make climate resilience a structural component of our health system. This requires concrete mitigation measures, stronger integration of climate data, and strategic planning to protect the health of our populations,” Dr. Mané said.
This project will help strengthen planning and coordination across sectors and stakeholders to unlock the financing and partnerships needed to achieve this vision.”
The project will also help the country develop fundable investment cases aligned with national climate and health goals, a move designed to ensure that adaptation plans are backed by measurable financing frameworks.
Boosting Climate-Health Readiness in Uganda
A parallel $700,000 investment in Uganda will support the Climate Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and the Makerere School of Public Health in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
The funding aims to bolster coordination and develop an investment case for implementing the country’s Health National Adaptation Plan (H-NAP 2025–2030).
The plan outlines Uganda’s long-term vision to integrate climate adaptation into all health sector policies, programs, and infrastructure.
“This project comes at a critical time as Uganda begins implementing its Health National Adaptation Plan,” said Dr. Didacus Namanya, Climate and Health Focal Person at the Ministry of Health.
“It will help strengthen and build resilience in the national health system against climate change adversities, ensuring sustained health access and security for vulnerable communities.”
Bridging Climate and Health Financing
The partnership between The Rockefeller Foundation and IDRC builds upon ongoing efforts to close the gap between health systems and climate financing.
Despite mounting evidence that climate change is worsening disease burdens and health inequities, many African health ministries lack the capacity to access and manage climate-related funds.
“Across Africa, people like those in Senegal and Uganda are on the frontlines of the climate crisis – facing rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and growing threats from vector-borne diseases,” said Manisha Bhinge, Vice President of the Health Initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation.
“Through this partnership, we are supporting both countries to access and deploy the financing needed to protect communities, strengthen health systems, and build resilience against heat and other climate-related health risks.”
Aligning with Global Climate-Health Commitments
This initiative also advances the momentum of international frameworks such as the COP26 Health Programme, where over 80 countries pledged to build climate-resilient and low-carbon health systems, and the COP28 Ministerial Declaration on Climate and Health, endorsed by 143 nations.
Both efforts call for accelerated action and financing to protect populations from the growing intersection of environmental degradation and health vulnerability.
The Rockefeller Foundation–IDRC collaboration further operationalizes the Guiding Principles for Financing Climate and Health Solutions, developed under the COP28 Presidency to channel greater investment toward climate-health resilience.
Toward a Climate-Resilient Future
By anchoring climate adaptation in health systems, the new partnership marks an important step toward Africa’s preparedness for the cascading impacts of global warming.
Both Senegal and Uganda have demonstrated policy leadership in embedding climate action into public health frameworks, but the success of such plans will hinge on sustainable financing and intersectoral cooperation.
As climate change accelerates, initiatives like this one underscore the continent’s growing resolve to build systems that are not only responsive to crises but resilient by design, ensuring that Africa’s health future is both sustainable and self-determined.
The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish.
They focus on advancing human opportunity and reversing the climate crisis by transforming systems in food, health, energy, and finance, including engaging through our public charity, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC).
About the International Development Research Centre
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) was created in 1970 with a mandate to champion and facilitate research on the challenges facing the world’s developing regions.
Their work is focused on enabling and applying scientific, technical, and other forms of knowledge for the advancement of developing countries.
Since its creation, IDRC has identified and responded to critical development challenges, working to help researchers in developing regions find solutions to the most pressing problems facing their communities and countries.
