Gom Mirian
The Green Climate Fund (GCF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and World Health OOrganisation WHO) have launched a plan to provide support to developing countries facing the impact of climate change on health.
Covering 14 countries across Africa, Asia and Southeastern Europe, the initiative was unveiled at the World Climate Action Summit’s Leaders’ Event on Health, aimed at addressing the particular vulnerability of countries with weak health infrastructure to the effects of climate change.
The Climate and Health Co-Investment Facility, an international investment programme, is initially expected to deploy $122 million in financing, with $1.5 million coming from GCF’s Project Preparation Facility, a match funded by UNDP and WHO.
In a publication released on WHO’s website on Saturday, Mafalda Duarte, the Executive Director of GCF, emphasised the interconnectedness of climate and health challenges and stressed the need for an appropriate response.
Duarte said: “Climate and health are intertwined challenges, and we must respond accordingly. Climate finance has an important role in preparing health systems to be better equipped to respond to climate impacts. The Climate and Health Co-Investment Facility is a powerful new instrument for healthier, more resilient communities in frontline nations.”
Also, the UNDP Head of Climate Change Adaptation, Srilata Kammila, stated that: “The climate crisis is a clear and present danger to public health. With the clock ticking, we must urgently build climate-resilient, sustainable, and low-carbon health systems — this initiative, forged in collaboration between the Green Climate Fund, UN Development Programme and the World Health Organisation will convene public and private sector partners and leverage the resources at scale to do just that, and in some the world’s most vulnerable countries.”
