Climate Change and Health

PACJA’s thematic focus on Climate Change and Health

    A. Contextual issues necessitating PACJA’s Intervention in this thematic area

Climate change impacts health through increased vulnerability to airborne, waterborne and vector-borne diseases and malnutrition. (Afr-Rc72-10-Eng (Regional Strategy for The Management), n.d.)PACJA acknowledges the cross-cutting nature in which climate change affects all SDGs including the health sector. Climate change thus worsens the pre-existing health inequalities especially in Africa. According to WHO, Climate change will account for 250,000 additional deaths per year 2030 and 2050. At the current rate of adverse climate impacts, it is unlikely the 2030 sustainable development agenda, the 2063 Agenda and the SDGs will be realized. Everyone is harmed by the impacts of climate change to some degree, but these harms fall disproportionately on disadvantaged population groups – including women and girls, Indigenous communities, people in crisis, displaced people, and the poor.(Cop26 Special Report on climate change and health the health argument for climate action, n.d.)

The 26th Conference of the Parties (2021) reframed climate change as a health issue. The planet and people’s health are central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Sustainable Development Goals are generating new entry points for engaging individual Governments on national policy formulation. Within this initiative, these conversations will target mainly SDGS 1, 2,3,7,13 and other relevant targets within the SDG framework

In this vein, PACJA has been working with the many stakeholder such as the UN and the AU to advancing the climate justice imperatives and deeply appreciates the proposed strategy around management of environmental determinants of human health in the African regional strategy of 2022–2032.The PACJA health and climate change focus is consistent with the following key building black as proposed by WHO: Leadership and governance, Health Workforce, Health information systems, Essential Medica Products and Technology, Service delivery, Financing.(World Health Organization & World Health Organization. Health Security and Environment Cluster, n.d.)

     B. Outcomes pursued in our strategic engagements

PACJA’s strives for a climate resilient, low carbon and adaptive health system pathway to sustainable development and aims to realize four strategic outcomes:

Outcome 1: Improved health through climate resilient health systems: The focus of the PACJA strategy is to advocate for and strengthen the capacity of health systems at all levels to maintain their essential functions before, during and after climate induced crisis.

Outcome 2: Enhanced climate and health governance: PACJA will build the capacity of Civil Society organizations to hold duty bearers accountable. The aim will be to ensure CSOs can monitor, learn, document key governance processes and results.

Outcome 3: Transparency and Accountability: This outcome is anchored around advocacy for investments that ensure pandemic recovery, health financing, WASH financing and clean energy is done in Programmes and services that aim to equitably realize those health rights and ensure that realization of these rights is embedded in the governments’ international commitments.

Outcome 4: Evidence for Policy Influence: PACJA will enhance collaborations with relevant research entities, Ministries of Health to generate evidence relevant to our policy influencing for greater climate response in the health sector.

   C. Key Interventions and strategic Choices for PACJA

To achieve the outcomes envisioned above, PACJA, informed by the gap analysis and the need for strengthened intersectionality has three broad areas for strategic intervention notably

1. Health and nutrition – focusing on strengthening health systems, catalysing investment in adaption to address adaptation gaps – including in health sector, addressing fundamental food and nutrition issues and cutting on the 4% emissions attributable to the health sector
2. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) – this stream of work addresses the water related challenges and health while bolding out the adaptation imperatives in the broad water sector
3. Energy – our work is focused on advocacy and programmes interventions in scaling access to clean energy, with a focus on household level to address the disproportionate exposure of women to indoor pollution while advancing for decentralized energy systems for scaling access to energy to health facilities

       D. Our general organizing to deliver on Climate & Health promise!

PACJA has an approved strategy on climate change and health, informed by critical issues as generated through country level mapping of priority climate and health issues. Our convening on climate change and health, on the sidelines of Common Wealth Heads of States and Government (CHOGM) meeting in Kigali, June 2022, set a stage for bold conversation and the establishment of a working group on climate change and health. This multi-disciplinary group continues to inspire hope as it draws strengths from across different entities to advance for a strong health discourse in climate response. PACJA has signed teaming agreements with Daystar University, Universite’ Felix Houphouet, Day star University, Pathfinder International and ACMAD on specific work. The organization has established collaborations with AMREF and other partners. Working under the platform of the Africa Climate Summit- Non-State Actors, PACJA is a member of the Health Actors cluster and incrementally is working towards profile health matters during the Africa Climate Summit and ultimately in COP28. PACJA has staff devoted to work on climate and health and other thematic leads supporting in the in inter-thematic analysis and synergy.