Climate resilient sustainable healthcare

The CRESH Ngouri project, initiated in 2023, focuses on transforming a hospital in the Sahel region into a climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable health facility. This project aims to adapt the hospital’s infrastructure, processes, and staff to better manage the effects of climate change, especially in a region prone to extreme weather conditions. The project involves a multi-disciplinary team, including hospital leadership and technical experts, who have piloted Climate Action Accelerator’s VCA to identify key risks and prioritize adaptation measures. Over time, this hospital will serve as a demonstration site, providing a scalable model for other health facilities in the Sahel.

Launched in 2024 in collaboration with Stellenbosch University, the Climate Resilient Primary Care Project focuses on adapting primary care services to the challenges of climate change in the most energy efficient and sustainable way possible. We have worked with the Western Cape provincial health authority, clinical staff, and two universities to tailor the VCA toolkit for primary care networks, to develop a list of priority interventions to improve environmental sustainability and resilience of primary care services. The project now aims to implement these measures on a pilot basis, with the intention to roll out across the province if found to be effective.

In the world’s largest refugee camp, this project aims to support existing healthcare services to adapt to the escalating impacts of climate change, including cyclones, floods, and extreme heat.  With our partner Terre des Hommes and icddr,b, we are applying the climate VCA to equip three healthcare facilities with low-carbon, sustainable, and community-driven solutions. This project will demonstrate how climate resilience adaptations can help both displaced and host populations in vulnerable and humanitarian settings.

SENEYA stands for “Health, Environment, Ecosystems, Including Adaptation” in French. This innovate “One Health” project is a partnership between Solthis, Agronomes & Vétérinaires Sans Frontières, CAA, and local stakeholders, addressing the intertwined health of people, animals, and ecosystems in Sédhiou, Senegal. The project will use diverse methodologies, including the Climate VCA methodology, to define and implement climate resilience interventions at facility level, and to empower communities and health workers to co-create sustainable solutions. By restoring ecosystems and strengthening health facilities, the project not only enhances resilience but also exemplifies how transdisciplinary interconnected actions can protect ecosystems and improve health outcomes in climate-vulnerable regions.