Washington: Unabated climate change is expected to make the global goal of poverty reduction increasingly difficult to achieve. A recent study by the World Bank estimates that climate change could push an additional 132 million people, more than half of whom reside in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, into extreme poverty by 2030. Of these, 44 million people may be driven into poverty due to health impacts associated with climate change.
According to World Bank, the degree to which future generations will be affected by the climate crisis hinges on the decisions made today. In partnership with various stakeholders, the World Bank is committed to aiding countries in addressing this significant health challenge. As the largest climate financier and the biggest funder of health systems globally, the World Bank is determined to increase its investments in climate-health action. Through its Climate and Health Program, it integrates climate considerations into its $30 billion health portfolio, which is active in over 100 countries.
The World Bank is actively supporting countries to fortify health systems, enabling them to predict, detect, prepare for, and respond to climate risks and disasters. This includes building climate-informed surveillance and early-warning systems, enhancing the health workforce’s capacity in climate-health, and climate-proofing healthcare infrastructure. Furthermore, it is assisting in transitioning health systems to low-carbon, high-quality service delivery through the use of clean, renewable energy and low-carbon medicines and equipment. Given that the health sector contributes approximately 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, these efforts are crucial.
Addressing the root causes of climate change and its health impacts, the World Bank works across sectors to scale up initiatives in areas such as One Health, water, sanitation, hygiene, and energy efficiency. The organization has already made significant climate-related health investments in over 100 countries, with nearly three-fifths of these funds 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 agenda. This financing includes energy-efficient medical equipment and telemedicine services, benefiting approximately 273 million Indonesians. In Sierra Leone, the World Bank supports the procurement of energy-efficient, low-carbon health equipment and climate-smart health facility enhancements, improving access to essential health services for at least a third of the population. In Nigeria, a Sector-Wide Approach is employed to integrate climate considerations into health sector reforms, directly benefiting 40 million people with improved access to quality health services.