Washington: Unabated climate change poses a significant threat to global poverty reduction efforts, with the potential to push an additional 132 million people into extreme poverty by 2030. More than half of these individuals are located in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, with 44 million driven there by health impacts linked to climate change.
According to World Bank, the organization is committed to supporting countries in addressing the health challenges posed by climate change. As the largest climate financier and the leading funder of health systems, the World Bank is increasing its investments in climate-health initiatives. Through its Climate and Health Program, the bank is integrating climate considerations into its $30 billion health portfolio, which is active in over 100 countries.
The World Bank’s strategy includes strengthening health systems to better predict, detect, prepare for, and respond to climate risks and disasters. This involves building climate-informed surveillance and early-warning systems, enhancing health workforce capacity in climate-health, and climate-proofing healthcare infrastructure. Additionally, the bank is transitioning health systems to low-carbon, high-quality service delivery, emphasizing clean, renewable energy for infrastructure and fleets, as well as low-carbon medicines and equipment.
Addressing the root causes of climate change and its impacts on health, the World Bank is working across sectors to scale up efforts in areas such as One Health, water, sanitation, hygiene, and energy efficiency. The bank has made significant climate-related health investments across more than 100 countries, with nearly three-fifths allocated for adaptation interventions like urgent nutrition support, surveillance systems, and emergency response centers.
In Indonesia, the World Bank has partnered with three other multilateral development banks to invest $4 billion in the country’s health system transformation. This financing covers energy-efficient medical and laboratory equipment and telemedicine to ensure continued service delivery during climate shocks while reducing emissions. Approximately 273 million Indonesians, including over 300,000 health staff and volunteers, will benefit from these efforts.
In Sierra Leone, the World Bank supports the procurement of energy-efficient, low-carbon health equipment and climate-smart health facility rehabilitation, construction, and solarization. These investments, informed by a Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment, aim to improve access to resilient, high-quality essential health services for at least a third of the population.
In Nigeria, the World Bank is applying a Sector-Wide Approach in partnership with other funders to support the government’s plans to integrate climate considerations throughout its health sector reforms. Investments focus on infrastructure solarization, climate-health policy planning and implementation, and financial protection for climate-vulnerable populations. This initiative will directly benefit 40 million people by improving access to quality essential health services, alongside major improvements in health system assets, governance, and preparedness.