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By Lastword Musekiwa The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO-AFRO) has raised alarm on climate change’s devastating impact on Africans’ health, urging governments to formulate evidence-based policies to combat global warming. WHO-AFRO Healthier Populations Cluster Director Dr. Adelheid Onyango   Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the inaugural Climate and Health Africa Conference (CHAC 2024) in Harare yesterday, WHO-AFRO’s Healthier Populations Cluster Director, Dr. Adelheid Onyango, expressed concerns about the alarming impact of climate change factors on the continent’s health. “We in the health sector are very concerned because there are many factors being driven by climate change that affect diseases and health conditions, which end up being a burden on the health sector,” Dr. Onyango said. “What we are here to talk about is why it is extremely important to first of all tap into the knowledge that is coming out of discussions by scientists and researchers. “Use that information to address the lived and experienced problems that communities have, and to also encourage policymakers to see what the evidence is telling us, so that the policies we put in place, in terms of development – be it in health, agriculture, trade, housing, transport, etc. – all need to be strengthened such that climate change impacts are minimized,” she emphasized. Meanwhile, CHAC 2024 Chairperson, Dr. Fortunate Machingura, is advocating for a multi-faceted approach and increased funding to tackle climate change in Africa. “With climate action, you have to be thinking multisectorality, interdisciplinarity, and it’s not always easy to come up with resources that put together multiple sectors. “Often, departments of government and ministries have their own budgets already allocated to their niche, so bringing one government department and another together to share those little resources to look at the impacts of climate change is quite problematic. So, you need that coordination right at the top of the political tier of decision-making,” Dr. Machingura noted. CHAC 2024 Chairperson Dr. Fortunate Machingura To effectively address climate change, Dr. Machingura said policymakers must work collaboratively with various stakeholders, including governments, NGOs, and universities. The three-day conference, attended by over 400 delegates from 30 African countries, including ministers of health, researchers, healthcare professionals, and funders, aims to promote multisectoral collaboration, climate-informed policy, and health systems strengthening. Africa is vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with tens of millions already feeling the negative health impacts including heat-related illnesses as heatwaves become more frequent and severe, affecting vulnerable populations like pregnant women and children. Climate change is also promoting infectious diseases as it is altering the transmission and distribution of vector-borne diseases like malaria, with temperature, rainfall, and humidity influencing the spread. Water-borne diseases like cholera as flooding and contamination of water sources happen, leading to increased cases of the diseases. It’s clear that climate change is no longer just an environmental issue, but a pressing health concern that requires immediate attention and action.

  By Online Desk The highly anticipated first International Climate and Health Africa Conference has announced its lineup of keynote speakers for the three day event which kicks off in Harare this Tuesday. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa will deliver the official opening keynote address. President Emmerson Mnangagwa Dr. Fortunate Machingura, Chair of the inaugural International Climate and Health Africa Conference and Lecturer at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (UK), will give opening remarks while Professor Stanley Luchters, Co-Chair of the Conference and Professor at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (UK) and Ghent University (Belgium), will address the conference.                 Dr. Fortunate Machingura Dr. Modi Mwatsama who is Head of Capacity and Field Development – Climate and Health at Wellcome Trust (UK), will share insights on climate and health while Dr. Joseph Waogodo Cabore who is the Director of Programme Management at WHO AFRO (Congo), will discuss WHO’s efforts in climate and health. Dr. Modi Mwatsamwa Dr. Joseph Waogodo Cabore Other key note speakers include Senegalese Health Minister Dr. Ibrahim Sy who will discuss leveraging Africa’s leadership and advocacy for climate change and health; Zimbabwe’s Environment, Climate and Wildlife Minister Dr. Sithembiso Nyoni will also address the conference while Dr. Douglas Mombeshora Zimbabwe’s Minister of Health and Child Care and Chairperson of the SADC Ministerial Committee on Health, will welcome delegates. Dr. Douglas Mombeshora More key speakers include: Dr. Lul Pout Riek, Regional Director, Africa CDC, Southern Africa Regional Coordinating Center (Ethiopia), who will represent the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Adelheid Onyango, WHO AFRO UHP Director (Congo), who will summarize key action points and the way forward; Dr. Judy Omumbo, Science for Africa Foundation (Kenya), who will share conference summary and reflections; Professor Gueladio Cisse, Adjunct Professor University Peleforo Gon Coulibaly (UPGC) and Senior Scientist at the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques (CSRS), Côte d’Ivoire, who will present the Harare Climate and Health Africa Declaration. Dr. Lul Pout Riek, Regional Director, Africa CDC, Southern Africa Regional Coordinating Center (Ethiopia), will endorse the declaration on behalf of the African Union. Other notable speakers include: Mr. Samson Chidiya, PEPFAR Climate and Health Cluster, Zimbabwe. Dr. Brad Newsome, Program Director, Division of International Training and Research (DITR), Fogarty International Center, NIH. Dr. Mickey Chopra, Global Solutions Lead for Service Delivery, Health, Nutrition, and Population, World Bank Dr. Martin Muchangi, Director for Population Health and Environment, AMREF Health Africa, Kenya Dr. Patrick Gitonga, Health and Climate Senior Specialist, Green Climate Fund. The conference aims to cultivate resilience in health through unified, equitable strategies for climate adaptation and mitigation in Africa. It marks Africa’s pivotal entry into the global discourse at the intersection of the climate crisis and health.