African climate negotiators are intensifying calls for global climate policy to place health at its core, warning that climate change is rapidly becoming one of the continent’s most urgent public health threats.
The appeal was made at a Climate and Health Capacity Building Workshop held ahead of the 64th Session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Subsidiary Bodies (SB64), scheduled for Bonn, Germany.
The forum brought together negotiators, technical experts, youth climate advocates and representatives of key institutions to strengthen Africa’s voice in international discussions linking climate change and public health.
Chair of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN), Nana Dr Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, said climate change can no longer be treated solely as an environmental issue, stressing that its impacts are increasingly being felt in hospitals, communities and vulnerable populations across Africa.
He warned that rising temperatures, droughts, flooding, food insecurity, air pollution and shifting disease patterns are placing severe pressure on already fragile health systems across the continent.
According to him, climate-related disasters are not only increasing in frequency but are also exposing gaps in healthcare delivery and creating new disease burdens in affected regions.
The workshop also built on earlier efforts to strengthen Africa’s negotiating capacity, including a climate and health curriculum developed by Amref Health Africa in collaboration with partners to train negotiators on integrating health into climate policy.
Participants included representatives from the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Africa (WHO-AFRO), Africa CDC, Amref Health Africa, and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), who discussed strategies for improving Africa’s influence in global climate negotiations.
Dr Amoah noted that recent international developments, including the Belém Adaptation Indicators and the Baku Adaptation Roadmap, offer Africa an opportunity to shape how global adaptation progress is measured and financed.
He urged African negotiators to ensure that health indicators under the Global Goal on Adaptation are practical, relevant, and reflective of the continent’s realities.
He further called for stronger coordination among African countries to secure climate finance that supports health system resilience and adaptation efforts.
Describing health as the “human face of climate change,” Dr Amoah said meaningful climate action must prioritise the protection of lives, not just environmental targets.
He stressed that embedding health in climate negotiations is essential if global agreements are to address the full impact of the climate crisis on vulnerable populations.
