Urban Climate-Health Action

Overview

While the causes of climate change are global, the health impacts are inherently local. Facing acute climate shocks and chronic stresses, cities are first-line responders for public health preparedness, surveillance and response.

One-half of the world’s population lives in cities, with this figure increasing to 70% by 2050. In low and middle-income countries, the pace of urbanization is even faster. Further, those in concentrated poverty and without access to health and social services are disproportionately vulnerable, resulting in profound inequities in climate risk.

City leaders need the right information at the right time to understand how and when their health systems and populations will be impacted by a changing climate.

The Rockefeller Foundation is supporting integrated, multi-sectoral, and multidisciplinary approaches that can unlock the ability of a city to access, interpret, and act on climate information to save lives now and in the future.

Why it Matters

Climate change is compounding the critical, preexisting health inequities that exist in urban areas. As urbanization is likely to outpace the development of climate-resilient infrastructure and systems, cities are unprepared to adapt to a warming world.

0BillionBillion
people live in cities. This trend is projected to increase, with the urban population potentially doubling by 2050
~0BillionBillion
people, living in over a thousand cities, will be regularly exposed to extreme heat events
0%%
of cities indicate “strong coordination” between city departments, according to the Urban Pulse survey

Featured Content

Urban Climate-Health Action: A New Approach to Protecting Health in the Era of Climate Change
Launched at New York Climate Week 2024, this policy report outlines a three-step roadmap to help cities around the world more effectively plan for, and respond to, the global health emergency caused by climate change. These insights are informed by seven pioneering case studies of climate-informed health action at local, national, and global levels.
Urban Pulse: Identifying Resilience Solutions at the Intersection of Climate, Health and Equity
Conducted by Yale University and the Resilient Cities Network, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, this survey provides critical insights. Of nearly 200 city leaders in 118 cities in 52 countries, 70% of city leaders recognize climate-related health threats, and over 90% report economic losses from such events. Despite this, few cities have emergency response plans that use reliable climate data, and only 20% have strong inter-departmental coordination.

Case Studies

Pioneering city-led initiatives have already made an impact on the lives and well-being of urban dwellers across the world.

Local, multisectoral coordination
Heatwaves in Dhaka
To minimize the health effects of heatwaves in Dhaka, the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society engaged a multisectoral team to develop an Early Action Protocol. Using heat forecasting and vulnerability data, responders managed to alert 1 million at-risk people and deploy live-saving resources including water and umbrellas. If scaled to 57 countries, this system could save almost 100,000 lives yearly.

Local, multisectoral coordination
Dengue in Rio de Janeiro
In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Health Surveillance Superintendence brought together a multidisciplinary team to manage dengue outbreaks. This team, consisting of the Operations and Resilience Center and other local partners, predicted a spike two months earlier than forecasted by traditional epidemiological models, leading to timely response and the lowest death rate over the last four epidemics.

Climate and health sector collaboration
Dengue in Bangalore
Recognizing the increased risk of dengue in Bangalore, India, the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Technology Park (ARTPARK) built a platform for dengue data collection. Layering this with weather, population and land use data, the Dengue Platform provides risk forecasts up to 4-weeks in advance, allowing practitioners to coordinate mitigation activities and protect vulnerable populations.

Risk Communications
Cholera in Lusaka
In Lusaka, Zambia, the El Niño climate phenomenon has led to acute water insecurity, increasing local cholera incidence. A Risk Communication and Community Engagement response led by the Collective Service, has allowed practitioners to better understand community needs and concerns, and resultantly to improve the uptake of vaccines and oral rehydration salts, resulting in fewer community deaths.

National Policy
National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments (VAA) in Uganda
While Uganda is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries globally, most sectors including health have historically not accounted account for this risk. Addressing this, the Ugandan Ministry of Health published a Health National Adaptation Plan and Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment in August 2024. Identifying key climate risks to health, these documents are set to guide national policy.

Collaboration between health and meteorological agencies
Heatwaves in Senegal
Despite robust meteorological data, poor cross-talk between climate and health services has hindered the effective management of heatwaves in Senegal. Recognizing this, ANACIM, the meteorological service, along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Ministry of Health, produced a Heatwave Early Warning Bulletin to inform targeted responses at national and local levels.

Global goods
SORMAS
Recognizing issues in the management of the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic, Nigeria developed SORMAS, an open-source platform for real-time data sharing and task management. When used over the Covid-19, pandemic, demand for SORMAS increased globally. Now, with the growth of climate-related infectious diseases, SORMAS is integrating a critical One Health approach to environmental surveillance.

Our People

Executive Assistant

Wadzanayi Muchenje

Naveen Rao, MD, FACP

Senior Vice President

Executive Assistant

Director, Health Policy and Communications

Project Manager

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