Urgent Need to Increase Adaptation Finance for Health: adelphi Report Warns of Critical Underinvestment

A new briefing by adelphi has issued a stark warning that the world is critically underinvesting in health systems needed to withstand the growing impacts of climate change. Despite mounting evidence that “climate financing is health financing”, the analysis reveals that only $173 million—just 0.5% of all multilateral climate finance and 2% of total adaptation finance—has been directed toward health sector adaptation since 2004.

The report, The Nexus of Adaptation and Health Finance: Mapping multilateral climate funds’ investments and national needs, highlights that climate-vulnerable countries are already facing escalating health threats—from heatwaves and vector-borne diseases to collapsing health infrastructure. Yet, despite improvements in recent years, health priorities remain largely overlooked in multilateral climate funding.

“The climate crisis and its impacts on human health are severe and life-threatening—already impacting health, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia,” said Mathilde Wilkens, co-author of the briefing. “Linking multilateral climate fund investments with national health priorities, particularly in vulnerable countries, is key to building resilient health systems.”

adelphi’s analysis of 67 National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) submitted to date found that 87% include health priorities and 39% have a dedicated health budget. The total estimated health adaptation need across these plans amounts to $2.54 billion—of which a mere 0.1% is currently covered by multilateral financing.

Countries such as Bangladesh and Nepal have made notable progress in planning for climate-resilient healthcare. However, without substantial new investment, these efforts risk stalling.

“As one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, Bangladesh faces escalating health threats—from infectious diseases to heat stress and mental health impacts,” said Md Shamsuddoha, Chief Executive, Center for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD), Bangladesh. “To safeguard communities and advance our NAP goals, scaling up multilateral climate funds for the health sector is crucial.”

The briefing underscores that adaptation finance must reach those who need it most. While about half of all funding goes to Least Developed Countries (LDCs), only 4% supports fragile or conflict-affected areas—where health systems are often weakest. Notably, no country-specific health adaptation project has been funded in South Asia during the study period, despite the region representing nearly 18% of projected global climate-related health impacts.

With governments set to convene at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, next week—termed the “Adaptation COP”—adelphi’s findings come at a pivotal moment. COP30 will see the launch of the Belém Health Action Plan and operationalization of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA).

The report calls for the following key actions:

• Align climate and health investment priorities to strengthen national adaptation planning.

• Improve access to international finance for health-related stakeholders.

• Increase grant-based finance to prevent debt burdens on developing nations.

• Foster cross-sectoral collaboration on health and climate initiatives.

• Finalize ambitious GGA indicators for health and implementation at COP30.

About adelphi:

adelphi is Europe’s leading independent think-and-do tank focused on climate, environment, and development. With over 350 experts worldwide, adelphi supports governments and institutions in driving sustainable, just transitions and climate resilience.

The writer of this article is Dr. Seema Javed, an environmentalist & a communications professional in the field of climate and energy