Brazil, WHO launch pioneering climate adaptation road map for health

Belém, Brazil — The Brazilian Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, launched the first-of-its-kind Belém health action plan on Thursday to strengthen global health systems against rising climate threats. The action plan lays out practical measures to help countries prepare their health systems for climate impacts already unfolding worldwide — from heat-related illnesses and vector-borne diseases to food insecurity, floods, and mental health challenges. “Health is the most compelling reason for climate action, but for too long, health has been a footnote in climate negotiations,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general at the World Health Organization. “The Belém Health Action Plan changes that, laying out concrete actions countries can take to build healthier, more resilient communities in a warming world.” The plan comes at a time when extreme weather events and climate-related health emergencies are increasingly overwhelming health care systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Its main objective is to boost the health sector’s adaptation and resilience to climate change by improving surveillance and monitoring systems, building technical capacities, promoting evidence-based and participatory policies, and encouraging innovation and sustainable production. Article 7 of the Paris Agreement talks about achieving the global goal on adaptation by strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change. In this context, the Belém Health Action Plan is designed to support countries in building climate-resilient health care systems. “As countries advance the Global Goal on Adaptation, the Belem plan provides investable solutions to address health vulnerabilities of climate change. As countries report on their progress on their adaptation efforts, they can use the plan as an evidence-based guide to implement life-saving solutions that have been vetted by scientists and civil society,” Estelle Willie, director of health policy at The Rockefeller Foundation, told Devex. The plan also builds on the progress achieved in previous COPs, including the health program and the consequent creation of the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health, or ATACH, at COP26, the Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition, or I-CAN, at COP27, Declaration on Climate and Health and the Guiding Principles for Financing Climate and Health Solutions at COP28, and Baku COP Presidencies Continuity Coalition for Climate and Health and the Baku Initiative on Human Development at COP29. It is organized around three major lines of action: surveillance and monitoring; evidence-based policies, strategies, and capacity building; and innovation, production, and digital health. The plan also takes into account the needs and national contexts of health systems worldwide, and recognizes the cross-sectoral collaboration needed to accelerate mitigation efforts that generate health cobenefits. It also encourages countries to link their national adaptation plans with green financing mechanisms, ensuring that investments in health care contribute to both resilience and emissions reduction. Experts stressed that the Belém plan’s success will depend on how effectively it is translated into national and local strategies. Implementation will require sustained political commitment and financial support, particularly for low- and middle-income countries that face overlapping burdens of poverty, weak health infrastructure, and climate vulnerability. “The Belem Health Action Plan will only be successful if countries - all countries – have what they need to tailor the plan to their local circumstances, and to implement it,” Jeni Miller, executive director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance, told Devex. “For developing countries, grappling not only with climate change but also poverty and weak health infrastructure, the means of implementation must include adaptation finance as well as technical support from developed countries, with financial support that does not create a debt burden.” This story was produced as part of the 2025 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews' Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security. Devex retains full editorial independence.