Healthcare in a Changing Climate 2025

While the least economically developed countries are expected to experience more of the climate- related health impacts, they are the least responsible27 for the emissions that cause global warming. Africa, which only produces about 2% to 3%28 of global emissions, is already suffering a disproportionate amount of the impacts of climate change. However, the current imbalance may decrease over time as the effects of climate change begin to be felt increasingly in more economically developed regions. Getting ahead of the crisis There is no doubt that the public health threat from climate change will be a global crisis, far surpassing the devastation from COVID-19. As with the pandemic, the ongoing strain on global resources from the scope of the emergency will challenge the resilience of public health systems and the healthcare industry worldwide. Public health faces a crisis situation when the enabling environment does not support innovation. The challenge of addressing bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a good example. Since 2017 only 12 antibiotics29 have been approved, 10 of which belong to existing classes with established mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes30 the pipeline of new antibiotics as “stagnant and far from meeting global needs.” The Forum’s Agenda blog, 3 key priorities to avert a climate-driven health catastrophe by 2050,31 published in September 2024, lays out three steps which world leaders and health policy-makers could take to get ahead of the impending health crises: 1. Focus on making local healthcare systems climate-resilient. 2. Leverage private-sector innovation in healthcare, life sciences and academia, targeting climate- induced health challenges. 3. Allocate government resources and enact policies to enable a robust global response.The findings of Chapter 3 in this report emphasize these recommendations for future policy. Climate’s public-private sector challenge The pressing challenge of climate change necessitates the creation of climate-resilient global health systems, capable of safeguarding public health during large-scale and potentially lengthy health crises. Yet, even without climate events to contend with, the reality is that many health systems in less developed economies and even some in more developed ones would not currently be considered resilient. This represents an opportunity for the public and private sectors not only to prepare for climate change but also to close any existing gaps in healthcare with new and innovative capabilities. The COVID-19 pandemic showed first-hand evidence of the lack of resilience after hospitals in almost every country were overwhelmed, both by demand for services and absenteeism among staff. To get ahead of the climate crisis, it is important to identify infrastructure vulnerabilities and the diseases and conditions that can be mitigated with proactive strategies. For instance, pharmaceutical supply chains are vulnerable32 to the effects of climate change. When supply chains are disrupted, getting treatments to patients becomes a major issue. Reaching patients can become difficult when roads are washed away, ships cannot leave ports and planes cannot take off due to extreme weather conditions. Even short delays can potentially affect the efficacy of medicines, lead to longer-term supply bottlenecks and ultimately prevent people from getting access to care. Part of the solution lies in public-private partnerships – involving government, life science innovators and the healthcare sector – to prepare for making high-impact, longer-horizon investments in vaccines, treatments and infrastructure. There is still a window in which to get ahead of the crisis, but it is closing fast. The projected mortality rate in Africa is more than 20 times greater than in North and Central America and almost 14 times worse than in Europe. The public health threat from climate change will be a global crisis, far surpassing the devastation from COVID-19. Healthcare in a Changing Climate: Investing in Resilient Solutions 8