The Rockefeller Foundation and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) have launched a $1.4 million initiative to help Senegal and Uganda strengthen health systems against the growing impacts of climate change — marking a critical step toward climate-informed health governance in Africa.
The initiative, announced during the Pan-African Conference on Environment, Climate Change, and Health in Kenya, underscores the continent’s urgent need to address the intersection between environmental change and public health. Across Africa, rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and shifting disease patterns are straining health infrastructure, prompting new partnerships to turn climate awareness into tangible institutional action.
The joint program will be implemented through The Rockefeller Foundation’s public charity, RF Catalytic Capital, Inc. (RFCC), and aims to enhance governance, build evidence, and improve access to both domestic and international climate finance for health adaptation.
In Senegal, the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) and the Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE) will work with the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene to map vulnerabilities, strengthen technical capacity, and develop fundable investment cases aligned with national climate and health goals.
“Our ambition is clear — to make climate resilience a structural component of our health system,” said Dr. Codou Badiane Mané, Climate and Health Focal Person at Senegal’s Ministry of Health.
A parallel $700,000 investment in Uganda will support the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and the Makerere School of Public Health in implementing Uganda’s Health National Adaptation Plan (H-NAP 2025–2030). Working closely with the Ministry of Health, the initiative will strengthen coordination, planning, and financing for climate and health resilience.
“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 Uganda’s Ministry of Health.
By combining the Rockefeller Foundation’s expertise in health systems strengthening with IDRC’s leadership in policy research, the partnership aims to bridge the long-standing gap between the health and climate sectors.
The initiative also reinforces commitments made under the COP26 Health Programme and the COP28 Ministerial Declaration on Climate and Health, both of which call for accelerated investment in climate-resilient and low-carbon health systems.
As climate-related health risks rise across Africa, the Rockefeller–IDRC collaboration signals a growing commitment to ensuring that African health systems are not only prepared for the future but are leading in shaping it.
Article by Jed Mwangi
Photo/Rockefeller
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