- Health
- Energy and Climate
Return on Investment: Financing Climate and Pandemic-Resilient Health Systems
- The Africa-Europe Foundation
Date: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
Time: 7:30-9:00am
Venue: Hôtel Royal Genève
Format: In-person, breakfast moderated panel discussions in a conversational style
Register to attend here.
COVID-19 saw development progress slump backwards and inequality deepen with unprecedented numbers of people pushed below the poverty line.
The pandemic years were characterised by huge loss of life and livelihoods, sparking economic crises that were intensified by conflicts and extreme weather in multiple continents. These unparalleled pressures were felt across sectors, stressing country budgets; and trust in multilateral cooperation took a severe hit. It became clear that the world needs to rethink current financing structures and develop innovative financing solutions to remain agile in the face of global emergencies, addressing them at scale and on time to mitigate their cascading impacts.
“The average annual adaptation costs in LMICs today are estimated to be $70 billion and are expected to rise to over $200 billion by 2030.”
Yet only 34% of total climate finance (around $28 billion) was channelled to adaptation in 2020. Of this $28 billion, less than 5% (and under 0.5% of that from multilateral institutions) was dedicated to health. So despite health being recognised by many countries as a “high-priority sector vulnerable to climate change”, there remains a clear disconnect between written priorities and the direction of financial flows.
“ Greater focus must be placed on financing interventions and mechanisms that can make the most impact on the combination of these interrelated and existential issues: climate change and pandemics. ”
The costs of such interventions are not well documented, and nor is the return on investment well explored. The implications for international financing of prevention versus neglect need to be better understood to inform methodical policy and budgets.
This panel will discuss how to better elevate and demonstrate the cost and return on investment of building climate and pandemic-resilient health systems.
Guiding questions
- Which interventions can deliver significant co-benefits across pandemic prevention, health and climate change? What are the estimated costs and returns?
- What financing mechanisms can be leveraged and how do we ensure funding is directed to where it is needed most?
- How do we ensure we build on the potential of the COP28 Health Day, including implementing the guiding principles on financing health solutions?
Join Africa-Europe Foundation (AEF), Pandemic Action Network (PAN), and Resilience Action Network Africa (RANA) for a special session on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly to better elevate and demonstrate the cost and return on investment of building climate and pandemic-resilient health systems.