I had the privilege of being a panelist at the Forecasting Healthy Futures side event during the Africa Climate Action Summit and Africa Climate Week in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 6th, 2023. This event, themed “CLIMATE AND HEALTH SOLUTIONS: CLOSE UP – Putting a human face to the climate imperative,” aimed to capture regional perspectives on climate and health, ensuring they are well-represented in a major communications campaign leading up to COP28 in Dubai. I actively participated in the “MULTI-SECTORAL PERSPECTIVES: COLLABORATING FOR COLLECTIVE IMPACT” session, where experts from various sectors discussed their interdependencies with the health sector in the face of climate change. During the event, my contribution centered on shedding light on the profound impact of climate-driven health issues on women and youth. I emphasized how these vulnerable populations face unique challenges in the face of our changing climate. For women, the climate crisis often exacerbates existing gender disparities, affecting their maternal and reproductive health, increasing their vulnerability to vector-borne diseases, and placing them at the forefront of caregiving responsibilities during climate-related emergencies. On the other hand, youth, who represent the future, experience a growing burden of mental health issues due to climate anxiety, as well as challenges related to accessing climate education and dealing with the uncertainty of an ever-changing environment. My key message was that addressing these climate-driven health disparities requires not only recognizing their specific challenges but also dedicating resources and adopting gender-sensitive indicators to measure progress, ensuring a more equitable and resilient future for all.
