We need resources to fight health impacts of climate crisis, Africans tell Cop28

A cholera patient is rehydrated at a clinic in Harare, Zimbabwe: 18 countries in Africa are affected by the disease with 4,000 deaths. Photograph: Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters

Africa’s leading public health body is using the first ever health day at Cop on 3 December to call for increased funding to fight the health impacts of the climate crisis on the continent and create more resilient systems to ensure it is prepared for the next pandemic.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) launched the second phase of its three-year, $1.5bn Saving Lives and Livelihoods drive this week, but its director general, Dr Jean Kaseya, said multiple disease outbreaks combined with the growing burden of non-communicable diseases and recovery from Covid means that much more financial support is needed.