Climate & Health Investment Opportunity Primer

The "Climate & Health Investment Opportunity Primer" session highlighted the crucial role of innovation and investment in building a climate-resilient health system. This primer offers valuable insights, strategies, and actionable steps to accelerate transformative solutions, support vulnerable communities, and promote equitable approaches.

Introduction and Context

The session began with an overview of the Asia Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) and its mission to mobilize capital for impact in Asia. The AVPN has been increasingly intentional about focusing on climate, health, gender, and youth over the next decade to drive strategic investment opportunities. The "Climate & Health Investment Opportunity Primer" was developed to address the intersection of climate and health, a relatively new but critical area of focus.

Key Themes and Discussions

Intersection of Climate and Health: The session emphasized the growing traction of integrating health considerations into climate conversations. Climate adaptation, particularly in public health, is becoming a key aspect of climate response. The report underscores the significant impact of climate hazards on public health, including acute events like extreme weather and chronic conditions exacerbated by long-term climate changes. Vulnerability factors, such as demographics and geographic locations, further complicate the public health impacts of climate change. The session highlighted the need for a comprehensive understanding of these dynamics to effectively address the challenges.

Financing Needs and Gaps: Adaptation receives only about 10% of overall climate funding, indicating a substantial gap in necessary investments. The climate and health nexus requires an estimated $3.5 billion annually, with a current gap of $3 billion. This gap underscores the urgent need for increased social investments to catalyze and scale effective solutions. Specific sectors like agriculture and water also face significant financing requirements, further highlighting the importance of strategic investment in climate resilience.

Role of Social Investments: Social investments are crucial in creating traction and scaling solutions. The primer provides a comprehensive landscape analysis and identifies innovative solutions to bridge the financing gaps. It calls for strategic investments to support adaptation and resilience efforts, particularly in vulnerable communities. The session also discussed the importance of collaboration across sectors and disciplines to enhance the impact of climate and health initiatives. AVPN’s Climate and Health Lighthouse initiative aims to facilitate such collaborations by providing a democratic platform for knowledge sharing and influencing key stakeholders.

Key Takeaways

The "Climate & Health Investment Opportunity Primer" session underscored the critical intersection of climate and health, emphasizing the need for increased investment and strategic collaboration. The primer serves as a guiding framework to accelerate transformative solutions, support vulnerable communities, and promote equitable approaches in building a climate-resilient health system. Participants were encouraged to leverage the insights and strategies presented in the primer to drive impactful investments and collaborations. The session concluded with a call to action for stakeholders to actively engage in and support climate and health initiatives.