AFRICA CLIMATE SUMMIT AND AFRICA CLIMATE WEEK
Amref Health Africa continues to provide leadership on health and climate change nexus in Africa with a strong push to have health mainstreamed in climate discussions. At the 2023 Africa Climate Summit and Africa Climate Week hosted in Nairobi Kenya from 4th to 6th September, under the theme “Driving Green Growth and Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and The World”, we seek to heighten conversations on climate and health that are aimed at promoting:
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- A common African position on climate and health ahead of COP28.
- Development of healthcare systems which are resilient to the impacts of climate change.
- Development of health systems that are sustainable with low carbon emissions in Africa.
Through the following events, we seek to offer expert insights, exchange ideas, and forge strategic collaborations for impactful policy driven and community-led initiatives in Climate Change and Health.
Build-up Events leading to the ACW/ACS
Africa Dialogues Webinar Series on Climate Change & Health
Mainstreaming Health in Climate Action
In August 2022, together with our partners Dalberg, we hosted one of the Africa Dialogues Webinars on Mainstreaming Health in Climate Action. It served as a crucial platform to highlight the urgent need for an intersectional approach, considering the prominent exclusion of health in climate dialogue. Click here to access the recording of the webinar.
Climate & Health: Harnessing the Power of Local Communities and Youth for Climate Action in Africa
The global conversations around health and–climate nexus often take place at a high level with policy and decision makers. Although these debates are important, the community voice has not found space on the right tables. Seldom do these conversations include the voices of the people, that are most affected by these changes – the local communities, and young people. The youth hold immense innovative potential as they will define the future of our societies – but at the same time, they are among the most vulnerable population groups, and their voices are often overheard.
Therefore, this webinar sought to explore the role that local communities and young people across the continent play on climate action. It also aimed to elevate the voices that are often missing from the debate and find ways to include a community level approach to solve one of the biggest threats facing humanity.
If we want to boost African innovation and solutions, then we cannot afford to lose the perspective of young people and community actors. The cost of inaction is too high, and these groups might hold important keys to the solutions in their hands. Click here for the webinar highlights and full recording.
Regional Workshop Towards a Common Africa Position for Health and Climate Change, Lilongwe, 22 – 25 August, 2023.
A unified African voice for climate and health is necessary in strengthening momentum for effective climate action for health – calling for an urgent need for collective advocacy efforts that are structured to address existing barriers in prioritizing health within the UNFFCC negotiations. In this vein, Amref Health Africa, in collaboration with African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), and the World Health Organisation (WHO), hosted a regional workshop bringing together climate change and health experts, and policy makers from across Africa, as well as the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) in Lilongwe, Malawi from 22nd to 25th August, 2023.
The AGN is the technical body of the three-tier African negotiating structure that engages in the technical negotiations during the Conferences of the Parties and the intersessional negotiations. The initiative therefore sought to amplify the health position for Africa and rally the AGN to adopt the position a head of COP28 later this year. Other objectives of the workshop included:
- Building an understanding among key actors on the Africa common position on health and climate change
- To explore and elevate the health conversation in the context of mitigation, adaptation and climate financing frameworks.
- Build consensus among the health and climate change stakeholders’ road map towards COP28.
The Common Position will then be shared with African Ministers at a Ministerial Meeting on 3rd September 2023 at the ACS/W in Nairobi.
Click the links below to access key resources from the workshop:
- Session Highlights
- Media Coverage
- Africa Common Position on Climate and Health (to be uploaded after official launch by the Ministers)
Side Events
High-Level Ministerial Convening on Climate and Health
Venue: Sarova Stanley Hotel
Date: 3rd September 2023
Time: 18.00 – 20.00 – EAT
This will be the climax of the events for the health sector, with the African stakeholders having the best opportunity of amplifying political momentum on climate change and mainstreaming health as a central theme in UNFCCC discussions.
The event will facilitate the mobilization of Ministers of Health and Environment to lend a stronger voice to health concerns within the climate change discourse during the summit and the Health Day at COP28.
Further, drawing on the results of the common position workshop on climate and health, the meeting holds significant potential to establish a Pan African unified stance on climate and health.
Objectives of the side event:
- Provide a platform for commitments from African governments to accelerate progress on implementation of climate change and health commitments
- Socialize and discuss the pan African common stance on climate and health
- Share knowledge, experiences and innovations to catalyze action towards strengthening systems for accelerated delivery of climate change and health interventions
Expected Outcome
- Announcement of the Africa’s common position and renewed commitments on climate change and health initiative/s
- The roadmap leading to strong representation of Africa’s health community at COP 28
Africa Climate Summit Roundtable Dinner
Theme: Building Climate Resilient Health and Food Systems
Venue: Sarova Stanley Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya
Date: 4th September, 2023
Time: 18.00 – 21.00 – EAT
The World Health Organization warns of far-reaching consequences of climate change on livelihoods, including an approximated 250,000 additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress between 2030 and 2050. Amref Health Africa and Save the Children are joining forces to respond to this huge challenge.
We shall co-host a high-level dinner to share our joint vision and explore solutions for lasting health and nutrition change in the face of the climate crisis in Africa. Dr Githinji Gitahi, Group CEO of Amref Health Africa and Dr Phalkey Revati, Global Health and Nutrition Director of Save the Children, will lead a discussion on how a systems-based approach to climate health and food systems can achieve transformative, sustainable change.
The event will bring together a diverse group of private sector leaders and philanthropies, provide a space for sharing insights and strategies, and offer new opportunities for collaboration.
This is an invite only event, but we shall share the key highlights from the discussions.
Climate-Health Ministerial at ACS 2023: Catalyzing Momentum for Institutionalizing Health Negotiations within UNFCCC at COP28
Date: Tuesday, 05 September 2023
Location: Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC)
Drawing on the results of the common African position, this ministerial convening will give African Health Ministers a crucial platform to actively partake in climate dialogues and synchronize their strategies and messages in preparation for the Health Day at COP28. This collaborative endeavor is expected to reach beyond the health sector, involving other Ministries that intersect with climate and health, such as those of energy, finance, foreign affairs, and environment.
For additional information, write to us through [email protected]
We invite you to follow the conversations on social media via #AmrefAtACS23 and #ClimateHealth. We have our social media toolkit HERE which you can freely access and share with your networks.