African Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Health Systems & Facilities

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This session provides a foundational overview of climate-resilient and sustainable health systems, emphasizing the dual role of healthcare facilities(Climate Resilient and Environmentally Sustainable Health Care Facilities) as both frontline responders to climate impacts and contributors to environmental pressures. Participants will explore how climate change threatens health system functionality through infrastructure damage, disrupted supply chains, workforce strain, and rising healthcare demand, while also examining the healthcare sector’s carbon footprint and resource intensity.

This session will emphasize the importance of building resilience within health systems building blocks to prevent service disruptions, reduce economic losses, and protect population health. Participants will explore how proactive investments in resilient and sustainable healthcare infrastructure can help decrease avoidable costs, reduce climate-related morbidity and mortality, and ensure continued access to essential health services during climate shocks and long-term environmental change.

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This session introduces climate and health vulnerability and adaptation (V&A) assessments as essential tools for strengthening health system resilience. Through African case studies, participants will learn to identify vulnerable populations, assess current and projected climate-related health risks, and establish baselines for monitoring system impacts. The session will also highlight how V&A findings inform adaptation planning, policy development, and cross-sector collaboration using practical frameworks and methodologies.

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This session focuses on exploring methods and tools to conduct climate vulnerability and capacity assessments (VCA) at the health facility and community levels as a foundation for climate-resilient and sustainable health systems. Participants will learn how to identify climate hazards, exposure pathways, system vulnerabilities, and existing adaptive capacities using a stepwise, mixed-methods approach that combines facility audits with community and workforce engagement. Drawing on African case studies, the session demonstrates how VCA findings are translated into prioritized risk matrices and practical adaptation solutions that strengthen infrastructure resilience, service continuity, and community health outcomes.

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This session examines the health adaptation process as a structured, multi-sector effort to prepare health systems for the impacts of climate change. Participants will explore the core steps involved in developing and implementing climate change and health adaptation strategies — from risk assessment and priority setting to planning, financing, implementation, and monitoring.

The session emphasizes the essential roles of diverse stakeholders, including health system planners, clinicians, public health officials, civil society organizations, researchers, and decision-makers across sectors such as energy, infrastructure, finance, and environment. Through practical examples, participants will analyze how effective partnerships and governance mechanisms enable coordinated adaptation, strengthen resilience, and ensure sustainable and equitable health outcomes.

This session explores the role of early warning systems in mitigating climate-related health risks, focusing on their core components—data collection, risk assessment, and communication strategies. Participants will learn to identify climate-sensitive health indicators and integrate them into surveillance systems for timely public health responses. Using African case studies, the session highlights ways to enhance surveillance frameworks with climate projections, stakeholder engagement, and technological innovations to strengthen community resilience and preparedness.

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This session examines the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by health systems, categorised into scopes 1–3, and explores their sources and impacts. Participants will learn the basics of life-cycle analysis, review current estimates of health sector emissions, and identify opportunities to decarbonize and reduce emissions across all scopes. Case studies from Africa will illustrate practical strategies for creating more sustainable and climate-resilient healthcare systems.

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Reliable energy, safe water, and effective waste management are foundational to high-quality healthcare delivery. Yet many health facilities—particularly in low-resource settings—face unreliable power supply, water insecurity, and unsafe waste practices that increase costs, compromise patient safety, and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. This session explores integrated solutions for sustainable facility operations, including renewable energy systems, energy efficiency measures, rainwater harvesting, water reuse, waste reduction, safe disposal, and circular innovations such as organic waste-to-biogas. Participants will examine real-world case studies demonstrating how sustainable design and infrastructure investments improve service reliability, strengthen climate responsiveness and resilience, reduce environmental impacts, and generate long-term operational savings. The session also addresses practical strategies for implementation, integration into existing infrastructure, and financing mechanisms to support sustainable upgrades.

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This session explores the frameworks, indicators, and evaluation approaches used to assess climate-resilient, low-carbon, and carbon-neutral health systems. Participants will examine how resilience and sustainability can be embedded into health system performance measurement and monitoring processes. The session will review key domains for tracking progress—across governance, financing, service delivery, workforce, infrastructure, and emergency preparedness—while highlighting African case studies that demonstrate practical implementation. Emphasis will be placed on translating measurement into accountability, continuous improvement, and long-term system transformation in the context of climate change.

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This session will explore how climate change and planetary health should guide the pursuit of universal health coverage, which is one of the UN sustainable development goals. It will also consider the importance of multilateral funding to enable achieving this ambitious goal from the lens of climate justice. Finally, participants will learn about the complex governance mechanisms involving national and international entities, including the role of the WHO and philanthropic organizations.

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This session explores how health systems can access, mobilize, and effectively use climate finance to strengthen resilience and sustainability. Participants will examine the landscape of climate financing mechanisms—including multilateral climate funds, development banks, domestic financing, and private sector investments—and how these can support health adaptation and decarbonization efforts.

The session will provide practical guidance on aligning health priorities with climate finance requirements, including how to develop investment cases, integrate health into National Adaptation Plans and Nationally Determined Contributions, and engage with funding institutions. Through real-world case studies, participants will learn how countries and institutions have successfully secured and implemented financing for climate-resilient and low-carbon health systems, particularly in low- and middle-income settings.

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This session explores the crucial role of health communication and education in driving behavioural changes related to climate adaptation and GHG mitigation. Participants will learn strategies for effectively communicating climate health risks to diverse stakeholders, emphasising the importance of audience segmentation and message tailoring. The session also examines the potential mental health impacts of climate communications and offers solutions to overcome local and national challenges in health system adaptation, with case studies from Africa showcasing successful engagement approaches.

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This capstone session provides an opportunity for selected participants to present a context-specific climate adaptation and resilience plan for a health facility in their setting. Conducted approximately one month after the course concludes, this session allows participants sufficient time to apply course concepts and tools in real-world contexts.

Up to five participants will be selected to develop and present a Climate-Smart Health Facility Roadmap, integrating key components from the course, including vulnerability and adaptation (V&A) assessments, risk prioritization, and the use of measurable indicators to monitor progress. Presentations will be followed by expert and peer feedback, fostering a collaborative learning environment and strengthening the practical applicability of proposed solutions.

This session serves as the culminating learning experience of the course, bridging theory and practice while supporting participants in translating knowledge into actionable strategies within their institutions.