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When nations clash over competing interests and political pressures, effective leadership and local collaboration become essential lifelines. Regional cooperation and national commitments, backed by global frameworks, are vital to ensure that climate policies protect ecosystems, advance social justice, and, critically, safeguard public health. The question then becomes: How do we turn pledges and partnerships into measurable progress for both people and the planet?
The answer lies in action that bridges mitigation and adaptation integrated strategies12, such as decentralized solar projects in Sub-Saharan Africa that power clinics and homes while curbing deadly air pollution or mangrove restoration in Southeast Asia that shields coastal communities from storms while filtering pollutants and preventing waterborne diseases. In this way, climate solutions are thus health solutions: prioritizing initiatives that combat environmental and biodiversity threats, and protecting human well-being while building resilience against emerging disasters.
The displacement of 26.4 million people by extreme weather in 2023 is a harsh reminder of how vulnerable regions bear the brunt of this crisis. Heatwaves, floods, and storms don’t just leave destruction but expose deep inequalities in how we experience and respond to a planet under immense pressure.
Coastal areas are increasingly facing intensified flooding and storm damage, while arid regions struggle with worsening droughts and water shortages. These localized challenges call for innovative, locally-driven strategies to combat the drivers and health impacts of climate change. By investing in research, technology, and community-led initiatives, we can turn the tide on this crisis and build sustainable, healthy populations. Yet, the main challenges remain: What are the most pressing obstacles we must overcome?
1. Dr Caroline Milow. (2023). Regional Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for Central Asia.
3. 2024 Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID). (n.d.). IDMC – Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. https://www.internal-displacement.org/global-report/grid2024/
Health at Risk: Water, Heat and Diseases!
Heat waves, once rare, now wither cities from Ouargla to Paris, overwhelming health systems and claiming lives, increasing heatstroke, dehydration, kidney failure, and cardiovascular stress, especially in regions with limited access to water, cooling systems, or healthcare facilities. Wildfires in 2024 affected people in Australia, California, and South America, exacerbating respiratory issues already worsened by longer and stronger pollen seasons and air pollution. Rising temperatures fuel the spread of vector-borne diseases such as malaria in Kenya and Nigeria and dengue fever in Thailand and the Philippines.
Beyond immediate health threats, climate change is also intensifying less visible but equally dangerous crises. One such crisis is antimicrobial resistance (AMR)6, but how exactly does climate change fuel this “silent pandemic”? Rising temperatures are creating ideal conditions for bacterial resistance to thrive, particularly in South Asia. Warmer climates and changing ecosystems alter landscapes and reshape microbes that threaten health. Climate-induced conflicts and displacement in countries like Yemen7, Syria8, and many others are straining healthcare systems, with limited access to
4. Romanello, M., Walawender, M., Hsu, S., Moskeland, A., Palmeiro-Silva, Y., Scamman, D., Ali, Z., Ameli, N., Angelova, D., Ayeb-Karlsson, S., Basart, S., Beagley, J., Beggs, P. J., Blanco-Villafuerte, L., Cai, W., Callaghan, M., Campbell-Lendrum, D., Chambers, J. D., Chicmana-Zapata, V., . . . Costello, A. (2024). The 2024 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: facing record-breaking threats from delayed action. The Lancet, 404(10465), 1847–1896. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(24)01822-1
5. Mora, C., McKenzie, T., Gaw, I. M., Dean, J. M., Von Hammerstein, H., Knudson, T. A., Setter, R. O., Smith, C. Z., Webster, K. M., Patz, J. A., & Franklin, E. C. (2022). Over half of known human pathogenic diseases can be aggravated by climate change. Nature Climate Change, 12(9), 869–875. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01426-1
6. Antimicrobial resistance: a silent pandemic. (2024). Nature Communications, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50457-z
7. Halboup, A., Abdi, A., Ahmed, M., Al-Qadasi, F., & Othman, G. (2020). Access to antibiotics without prescription in community pharmacies in Yemen during the political conflict. Public Health, 183, 30–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2020.03.003
8. Osman, M., Rafei, R., Ismail, M. B., Omari, S. A., Mallat, H., Dabboussi, F., Cazer, C., Karah, N., Abbara, A., & Hamze, M. (2021). Antimicrobial resistance in the protracted Syrian conflict: Halting a war in the war. Future Microbiology, 16(11), 825–845. https://doi.org/10.2217/fmb-2021-0040
diagnostic and treatment, misuse, and quality of antibiotics, putting vulnerable populations at greater risk.
The increased UV exposure due to ozone layer depletion—caused by industrial chemicals that also drive climate change—is contributing to rising skin cancer rates in Australia9 and New Zealand. Extreme weather events, like recent hurricanes in the Caribbean and global wildfires, disrupt ecosystems, bringing humans into closer contact with wildlife and heightening the risk of disease spillover. Biodiversity loss, a silent companion to climate change, destabilizes ecosystems and creates new pathways for zoonotic diseases, as witnessed in outbreaks of Ebola and Marburg10 in recent years.
Regional and National Strategies for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
The climate crisis, when paired with biodiversity loss – a silent companion- proves that regions that have combined mitigation and adaptation, integrating health, are seeing real benefits while addressing key areas of impact:
1. Renewable energy transition while strengthening health systems
The high cost of renewable energy is a major barrier, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where energy poverty hampers development and weakens health systems. Upfront investment in solar or wind projects can be
9. Sun protection behaviours, Nov 2023 to Feb 2024. (2024, September 3). Australian Bureau of Statistics. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/sun-protection-behaviours/latest-release
costly, but alternative financing options are emerging. Take, for instance, the African Development Bank’s Desert to Power initiative, which aims to provide 10 gigawatts of solar energy to 250 million people11 in the Sahel by 2030, reducing fossil fuel dependence while promoting development.
2. Early Warning Systems – region-specific and tech-driven
11. https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/african-development-banks-desert-power-initiative-71072
12. National Centre for Disease Control, Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Shrivastava, A., Prasad, S., Patel, P., Bhaskaran, S., Centre for Chronic Disease Control, Prabhakaran, P., Kurup, R., Arunan, I., Dixit, S., Prakash, S., Alliance for an Energy Efficiency Economy, Goenka, A., Mathew, S., Gangahar, M., Kachhawa, S., . . . Joshi, T. (2023). Towards Climate-smart Hospitals: Insights from a National Hospital Energy Consumption Survey [Report]. https://ncdc.mohfw.gov.in/
As climate-related health threats continue to grow, regional collaboration and early warning systems are needed to strengthen resilience in communities, enabling them to respond to emerging challenges.
In South Asia, the SAARC Disaster Management Centre’s real-time flood alerts across Nepal, India, and Bangladesh have been crucial in reducing health crises. During recent floods in Nepal, it facilitated the rapid deployment of oral rehydration salts and vaccines. Past interventions, like Bangladesh’s 2017 cyclone relief, showed significant declines in waterborne diseases when alerts were combined with swift medical action.
In Southeast Asia, the ASEAN Dengue Task Force uses an AI model13 and monsoon data to predict and prevent outbreaks. In 2023, Thailand and Cambodia avoided thousands of dengue cases by spraying larvicides in high-risk areas before peak rainfall, demonstrating the importance of integrating technology and regional cooperation to effectively combat vector-borne diseases.
Similarly, the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology14 provides hurricane forecasts directly to hospitals, enabling timely evacuations and resource mobilization. In the Pacific15, Fiji and Vanuatu use early warning systems that automatically shut down coastal health facilities when seismic sensors detect undersea earthquakes to protect critical coastline infrastructures.
3. One Health Approach
Brazil’s Amazon monitoring programs illustrate the power of integrating human, animal, and environmental health by using satellite tracking to identify deforestation hotspots, while field teams monitor wildlife for pathogens such as the Ebola-related Marburg virus – this made them detect an unusual die-off of bats16, prompting pre-emptive quarantines to prevent an outbreak17.
Regional strategies are key in addressing health risks that span one health approach, complex and challenging in terms of effective coordination across sectors, but once in place, they enable faster responses to emerging threats like zoonotic diseases, pollution, and biodiversity loss. In Southeast Asia and Africa, collaboration initiatives have improved disease detection and
13. J. Riya, M. Chakraborty and R. Khan, “Artificial Intelligence-Based Early Detection of Dengue Using CBC Data,” in IEEE Access, vol. 12, pp. 112355-112367, 2024, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3443299
14. 2024 Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID). (n.d.). IDMC – Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. https://www.internal-displacement.org/global-report/grid2024/
15. Terzic, V.; Merrifield, S.K.; Mahin, S. Lifecycle Cost Comparisons of Different Structural Systems; Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California: Berkeley, CA, USA, 2012; Available online: https://goo.gl/BYbxNB
16. Wegner, G.I., Murray, K.A. Spingmann, M., Muller, A., Sokolow, S.H., Saylors, K., & Morens, D.M. (2022). Averting wildlife-borne infectious disease epidemics requires a focus on socio-ecological drivers and a redesign of the global food system. EClinicalMedicine, 47, 101386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclimm.2022.101386
17. Proamazonia. (2020, July 30). La Deforestación y su relación con las Enfermedades Zoonóticas – Proamazonia. Proamazonia – Programa Integral Amazónico de Conservación de Bosques Sostenible. https://www.proamazonia.org/la-deforestacion-y-su-relacion-con-las-enfermedades-zoonoticas/
The growing need for health diplomacy
Local innovation and action are invaluable, yet they can only go so far. To truly address the health impacts of climate change through mitigation and adaptation, we will require health diplomacy at both regional and global levels. In a world increasingly fragmented by geopolitical tensions, where collective action becomes difficult, collective action to fill the gaps left by global inaction. Health Diplomacy can bridge these gaps by promoting data sharing and coordination, strengthening health systems, and improving information exchange. However, scaling up these efforts requires local budgets, political will, and community support, alongside overcoming challenges like data-sharing barriers and dependence on ODA to ensure long-term sustainability.
The recent “panic” surrounding the U.S.A. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement demonstrates the need for regions and nations to take the lead on climate action. As the G7 and G20 face increasing pressure to address issues such as sustainable financing, security, AMR, and mental health in climate-affected communities, regional and local solutions become more promising and essential.
Such diplomatic efforts play a crucial role in bridging the disconnect between global ambitions and on-the-ground realities, translating commitments -whether global, regional, or national – into tangible results.
When we act at local and regional levels and secure accessible, sustainable financing, robust health diplomacy becomes the cornerstone that transforms our commitments into tangible, lasting change.
18. Wegner, G. I., Murray, K. A., Springmann, M., Muller, A., Sokolow, S. H., Saylors, K., & Morens, D. M. (2022). Averting wildlife-borne infectious disease epidemics requires a focus on socio-ecological drivers and a redesign of the global food system. EClinicalMedicine, 47, 101386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101386
Katherine Urbáez is the Founder and Executive Director at Health Diplomacy Alliance
She leads the development of the organization’s vision and priorities in health diplomacy. In this role, she advocates for the integration of health into foreign policy, promoting strategic leadership at political and international levels. Additionally, she is responsible for shaping and overseeing the implementation of the Alliance’s strategic direction and the work of the Diplomatic Task Force.
A former diplomat from the Dominican Republic, she began her public service career at the Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Development. She later served as Head of the Department of Treaty Administration at the Ministry of Agriculture before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Her diplomatic assignments included postings to the World Trade Organization, the Commercial Office in Hong Kong, the United Nations in Geneva, and the Embassy to the Swiss Confederation.
Throughout her career, she has played a key role in various negotiations and in designing public policies within the multilateral arena, focusing particularly on global health, human rights, and humanitarian issues. She has been appointed as a focal point for several national commissions, including those on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Safeguards, and Antidumping and Countervailing Measures. Additionally, she chaired the 2016 Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Presidency in Geneva and coordinated the Executive Board Membership at the World Health Organization.
Ms. Urbáez holds a B.A. in Economics from Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) and an MSc in International Strategy and Diplomacy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Her academic background also includes studies in international business, project management, and political economy. A United Nations Disarmament Fellow, former Executive-in-Residence Fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, and has a Public Leadership Credential from the Harvard Kennedy School.
India Health Fund is registered as Confluence for Health Action and Transformation Foundation (CHATF), a Section 8
charitable company incorporated in India, supported by the Tata Trusts.
