Science and policy experts unite in Africa to accelerate climate and health solutions | News

Wellcome will provide an initial £40 million for two new consortiums in Southern and Western Africa with a further £20 million earmarked to set up a third consortium in Eastern Africa.

The first two regional consortiums will be led by the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. Scientists, policy makers and community partners will join forces to co-develop evidence-based solutions that reflect local priorities and translate rapidly into policy and practice.

The Southern Africa consortium will prioritise solutions that address the health and economic impacts of heatwaves and floods as well as develop high-quality data to support evidence-informed action. In Western Africa, the consortium will focus on the impact of heatwaves, dust storms and drought on people’s health and nutrition to develop effective policies that also take into consideration the economic costs and benefits.

Africa is at the frontline of a rapidly warming world. Rising temperatures are driving deadly heatwaves, air pollution, worsening nutrition, and new threats to maternal and newborn health. Extreme weather events fuelled by climate change are disrupting food and water supplies and straining health systems, with marginalized communities facing the greatest burden.

Professor Charlotte Watts, Executive Director, Solutions at Wellcome, said:

“Africa is on the frontline of climate change, with women and marginalised communities already suffering the worst health impacts. By supporting African science and leadership, these new consortiums will generate the evidence and locally led solutions needed to improve health and save lives – now and in the future.

"The new consortiums will strengthen scientific expertise, support innovative solutions and provide context-specific evidence to inform policies and action across Africa. Their priorities are based on pan-African frameworks and co-designed with regional partners over the past two years with a focus on health and science equity."

Dr Modi Mwatsama, Head of Capacity and Field Development at Wellcome says:

"We want to help build healthier futures for everyone, and that includes ensuring African communities have access to the data, resources and expertise they need to address the climate and health challenges ahead.

“Wellcome is committed to working with partners in Africa who are best placed to develop the regional-specific evidence that supports decision-makers and community action. Both the accelerating crisis in Africa and the capacity for new knowledge, leadership and innovation means that the consortiums have huge potential to improve health and save lives.”

Professor Matthew Chersich, University of the Witwatersrand and Southern Africa consortium lead says:

“Southern Africa faces increasingly severe extreme heat and precipitation events with large numbers of highly vulnerable people, from both socioeconomic and health perspectives. The new consortium aims to overcome the knowledge, policy and financial barriers that constrain progress with care and support services for affected communities. Using a transdisciplinary and multisectoral approach, we will address extreme heat in South Africa and Zimbabwe, and flooding in Malawi, with a focus on delivering solutions that prioritise pregnant women, children, older people and those with chronic conditions.

“We will quantify, track and cost climate-health impacts; test adaptation innovations, including anticipatory cash transfers, support for mental health resilience and complex-cooling interventions; and drive step-changes in regional stakeholder coordination and policies to improve health and save lives. But, equally importantly, we will apply traditional public health measures to reducing carbon emissions, pioneering health-centred approaches to mitigation.”

Professor Philip Antwi-Agyei, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana and Western Africa consortium lead says:

“Climate change is an escalating threat to global health and West Africa is among the most vulnerable regions due to high exposure to climate hazards, low adaptive capacity, and fragile health systems. Intensifying climate-related health risks are compounding existing inequities, straining public health systems, undermining food security and disrupting livelihoods, with GDP losses projected to rise significantly across the region.

“The current uncoordinated context-specific policies and systems pose a huge challenge in addressing the risks associated with climate change and health – particularly in respect to heatwaves, dust storms, and droughts on food systems and other health determinants in Ghana and Senegal. The Western Africa consortium based in Ghana will establish a regional approach that brings together physical and social sciences, policy and practice to ensure that evidence is readily translated into tangible actions to benefit people’s health and livelihoods.”

Dr. Adelheid Onyango, Director of Health Systems and Services Cluster at the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, said:

“Health leaders across Africa make vital decisions with limited resources, so having access to rigorous, context‑relevant evidence is essential. It ensures every investment backs interventions that truly work. These new consortiums will hopefully fill a critical gap in the climate and health field and will be an invaluable resource to WHO AFRO and decision‑makers across the region.”

Philip Kilonzo, Head of Policy, Advocacy, and Communication at the PanAfrican Climate Justice Alliance, said:

"At a time when climate deniers are slowing global action, scientific evidence serves to humanize the cause for climate justice. PACJA applauds the Science and Policy consortiums as they are strategically poised to provide evidence to leapfrog advocacy on climate justice and strengthen resilience in health sector. We appreciate Wellcome Trust for this visionary investment in climate action that will build much more stronger fortress of evidence, the world urgently needs."

Further background information:

The consortiums will develop their own climate and health programmes based on core objectives to meet the needs of their populations with a focus on accelerating evidence-informed policy and action within five years.

The first two consortiums will receive initial funding of £20 million each to develop a five-year programme and Wellcome is in discussions with partners in East Africa on the development of a third consortium.

The broader expected outcomes for the consortiums in Africa include:

High-quality evidence: A significant increase in the generation of both context-specific, ethical, policy relevant and widely applicable scientific evidence, addressing Africa’s unique climate and health challenges.

Evidence-informed action: Accelerated adoption and implementation of urgent interventions – including solutions, policies, and programmes – that protect the health of African people from the impacts of climate change. While the primary focus of influence for this investment is national level policy in the priority countries, broader outcomes are expected to include influencing local, national, regional, and global plans and programmes.

African leadership in climate and health: A strengthened network of African leaders and champions across research and policy, driving the field forward with shared, open data, metrics, methods, innovations, and expertise.

Global influence: Greater participation and influence of African science and scientists in global decision-making and priority-setting processes for climate and health.

Collaborative networks: Enhanced connections within and across sub-regional and Pan-African networks of researchers and research users, with a specific emphasis on the inclusion of communities most affected by climate change. This will foster a positive and inclusive culture of research and engagement.

Field development: Strengthened capacity of younger or smaller organisations and experts from research, policy and practice stakeholders and communities to engage meaningfully in transdisciplinary climate and health research, and to effectively act upon the evidence generated.