Climate & Health Funders Coalition awards $225 million in first year to accelerate solutions that will improve health and save lives

The Climate & Health Funders Coalition has awarded more than $225 million in its first year, putting three-quarters of the initial $300 million pledged towards accelerating solutions on extreme heat, air pollution, climate-sensitive infectious diseases and data systems that protect people’s lives and livelihoods in a changing climate.

The Coalition, a group of leading global and regional philanthropies that made its initial commitment in November 2025 at COP30 in Brazil, now also has an additional $150 million in commitments from new and existing funders - including a matched funding opportunity for initiatives prioritising clean air.

In a year when climate change has hit communities hard all around the world and with an unprecedented El Niño underway, the Climate & Health Funders Coalition is stepping up its support for practical solutions, innovations, policies and research to protect people’s health and lives - particularly for communities most vulnerable to climate change impacts. 

Over $225 million has been awarded globally to 20 solutions programmes and counting. Some of the organisations and initiatives driving impact include: 

• The Clean Air Fund which works with a wide range of partners, spanning grassroots actors to governments, to accelerate action on clean air. Through its grants and projects, Clean Air Fund promotes air quality data, builds public awareness and influences policy making. Efforts include work to accelerate action on super pollutants and support cities around the world to clean the air and enhance public health through Breathe Cities.
• DHIS-2 which is integrating climate and environmental data in the health sector through partnerships with governments and national health systems and strengthening the use of open-source climate-health digital tools in low-and-middle-income countries across Africa and Asia.
• The Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN), including its regional Hubs in South Asia and Southeast Asia, which brings together policymakers, scientists and practitioners across sectors to translate knowledge into action and support the implementation of heat-health plans and interventions. GHHIN recently co-organised the flagship Global Heat Forum in Bangkok, convening more than 650 participants, including global experts on climate change, public health and extreme heat, to share solutions and secure investment grounded in scientific evidence, lived experience and proven practice.
• Nexa, a new global climate and health innovation initiative investing in bold, locally led solutions that help health systems anticipate and respond to climate-driven health threats. Co-led by Grand Challenges Canada and regional partners Science for Africa Foundation and Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (Nexa Lighthouse), Nexa funds both climate-informed early warning and monitoring systems and climate-responsive patient care delivery, including climate-smart diagnostics.
• SEWA which works with women workers in India’s informal economy to build resilience to climate shocks including extreme heat. SEWA is generating evidence on the physiological impacts of extreme heat exposure and deploying community-led programs including heat insurance and emergency grants to protect women from lost wages during extreme heat events.  
• The Super Pollutant Action Alliance which is working to strengthen the global super pollutant ecosystem and accelerate emissions reductions by advancing philanthropic learning and collaboration, building capacity, and addressing barriers to action.  
• WISER Africa which is transforming co-produced Weather and climate Information SERvices into action-oriented decision-making at local, national, and regional levels, while mainstreaming robust climate information into policy and planning. 

The Coalition brings together institutional and individual funders operating at international, national and regional levels to mitigate climate change while protecting people from its increasing impacts, improving health and saving lives. The Coalition also supports international climate and health frameworks like the Belém Health Action Plan which launched at COP30 in Brazil.   

The committed anchor funders include: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Gates Foundation, IKEA Foundation, Quadrature Charitable Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Philanthropy Asia Alliance (by Temasek Trust), and Wellcome. New funders making aligned commitments over the past year include: Novo Nordisk Foundation, Laudes Foundation and the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation. 

Building on the Coalition’s early success and interest, the Coalition will soon establish an independent secretariat with a dedicated Executive Director to further connect philanthropies, expertise and investment to accelerate action on climate change and health. The Coalition has also been engaging sector and community leaders to advise on strategy and ensure the supported investments meet the needs of stakeholders in the ecosystem. 

Action on climate change has never been more urgent, as it becomes increasingly evident that a rapidly warming world and extreme weather events like heatwaves and floods have the potential to threaten our livelihoods and economic security, our health and wellbeing. But there is also a window of opportunity to build a healthier, fairer and more prosperous future – if we act now and at the scale required through global partnerships. 

The latest figures from the Lancet Countdown Report on Health and Climate Change reveal that: 

• In 2023 alone, heat was linked to a record 710,000 deaths, with more than 70% of that toll attributable to human-caused climate change. Since the Paris Agreement entered into force ten years ago, human-caused climate change has contributed to an estimated 3 million heat-related deaths.
• Extreme drought affected more than half (51.8%) of global land for at least one month in 2025 – the second-highest level on record – with the affected area expanding more than 700% faster in 2016–2025 than in 2006–2015, exacerbating the risk of food insecurity. 
• Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns are increasing the environmental suitability for dengue transmission. A record-high number of people (1.72 billion) now live within 100km of coastal waters environmentally suitable for the transmission of Vibrio bacteria.
• Fossil-fuel air pollution still kills an estimated 2.73 million people a year worldwide but we are also starting to see the health gains from clean energy, with cleaner air preventing an estimated 323,000 deaths a year in at least 77 countries where air pollution from fossil fuels has fallen since 2016. 

Antha Williams, who leads the Environment Program at Bloomberg Philanthropies, says: “In just one year, the Climate & Health Funders Coalition has shown what’s possible when philanthropy comes together to tackle urgent challenges. By supporting solutions that cut air pollution and save lives, we’re turning commitments into action and helping build healthier, stronger communities.”

Kate Hampton, Chief Executive at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation says: “Climate change is not a distant threat: it already affects the health of millions of people worldwide. Children are among the most exposed, with more than one billion living with multiple climate risks that threaten their health, development and wellbeing. Alongside urgent action to reduce emissions and prevent the worst of the damage, we must help those already experiencing harm. The Climate & Health Funders Coalition exemplifies the cross-sectoral approach we need to respond to climate change.”

Marilia Bezerra, Chief Programmes Officer at IKEA Foundation says: “Over the past year, people across the world have experienced the worsening health consequences of climate change, including extreme heat, poor air quality, flooding and displacement. The Climate & Health Funders Coalition has played an important role in bringing greater attention, collaboration and investment to this challenge. IKEA Foundation is encouraged by the momentum it has built in just twelve months and the strong foundation it has laid to carry out its important mission in the years ahead.”

Dr. Nitya Mohan Khemka, Advisor, The Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation says: “For decades, our work on climate has been rooted in a simple belief: lasting change comes from collective action and strong policy, not isolated efforts. Extreme heat is now one of the clearest ways climate change shows up in people’s lives in India, through lost wages, overwhelmed health systems and lives cut short. Protecting people means working at every level, from national policy to states, cities and the local communities on the frontline. In just one year, the Climate & Health Funders Coalition has shown what a meaningful partnership can do. We are proud to join it, and to help turn shared and commitment into resilience that reaches millions.” 

Leslie Johnston, Chief Executive at the Laudes Foundation says: “As I look towards 2027 and, inevitably, the challenges that business and industry will continue to face in our increasingly fractured world, I remain convinced that philanthropy, at its best, is uniquely suited to meet this moment. We can take the long view, embrace risk, and pivot when the evidence calls for it. Yet we are only as strong as the partners we support. Which means that investing in protecting workers from extreme heat should be understood by employers and industries as a cost of doing business in a hotter world.”

Flemming Konradsen, Chief Scientific Officer, Health, Novo Nordisk Foundation says: “Extreme heat disproportionately affects people living with cardiometabolic disease. Thus, in a world with rising temperatures and frequent heatwaves, advancing cardiometabolic disease prevention and care is both a public health imperative and a commitment to health equity. By ensuring that vulnerable populations can access timely prevention, diagnosis and treatment, we can help reduce avoidable harm and build more resilient communities. The collaboration between multiple stakeholders under the Coalition plays an important role in this regard.”

Shaun Seow, Chief Executive at Philanthropy Asia Alliance says: “We cannot afford to let proven solutions remain isolated pilots. The Climate & Health Funders Coalition exists to change that, bringing philanthropy together to pool resources and expertise so countries can scale what works. Asia has much to contribute, with locally grounded solutions and lessons that can inform climate and health action globally. By strengthening country-level systems and supporting locally led action, we can turn collective commitment into lasting impact. Together, we can move from protecting hundreds of thousands of people to reaching hundreds of millions.”

Masego Madzwamuse, Managing Director at Quadrature Charitable Foundation says: "Healthy people and strong health systems are the foundation of resilient societies. Rising heat, polluted air and infectious disease are testing both, hitting frontline communities the most. Those communities are already leading the way in adapting, but the gaps are too large for any single funder to close. We are delighted to welcome the funders who have joined the coalition, and hope more will follow.”

Naveen Rao, Senior Vice President of Health at The Rockefeller Foundation says: “Extreme heat and disease outbreaks are no longer occasional emergencies but conditions every health system must now be built for. In its first year, this Coalition has shown what the next era of global health can look like: funders aligning behind plans countries set for themselves, so communities have the data, tools and partners they need before the next shock hits, not after.”

John-Arne Røttingen, Chief Executive at Wellcome says: “Climate action is fundamentally about protecting lives, preventing illness and creating healthier, safer and more resilient communities. We should judge our success not in degrees Celsius but in lives saved and health improved, and we have a duty to protect those people who are most vulnerable to climate change such as children, pregnant women, outdoor workers and older people. The Coalition is funding across sectors and borders to take on the biggest challenge of our time and it is far better to invest now than pay a higher price for inaction later.”

Learn more about the Climate & Health Funders Coalition at: https://www.chfcoalition.org/

About Wellcome

Wellcome is a global philanthropy working to build a healthier future for everyone. We are committed to investing £16 billion in our mission between 2022 and 2032.

We support discovery research and we’re taking on three worldwide health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health.

Our independence and long-term resources allow us to think in decades, take risks and support ambitious ideas. We work with decision makers to enable evidence-informed choices that support science and health. We connect science with people’s lives through public debate, stories and cultural experiences – including Wellcome Collection: our free museum and library exploring the past, present and future of health.