Former Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, will lead a multi-sector initiative to strengthen health financing and climate adaptation efforts across selected African countries.
This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja by the Spokesperson to Osinbajo, Mohammed Brimah.
Brimah said Osinbajo would lead the programme in five West African countries, namely Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
He noted that the initiative was being undertaken by Future Perspectives, in partnership with its development and policy division, the Africa Centre for Future Perspectives, to generate evidence and guide strategies on health financing and climate resilience.
According to him, the initiative aimed to promote domestic health financing solutions to strengthen African health systems amid growing climate-related challenges.
He noted that governments in Sub-Saharan Africa faced increasing pressure to strengthen health infrastructure while managing rising debt and frequent climate-induced shocks.
He said the situation had worsened food insecurity, increased vector-borne diseases and placed additional pressure on already vulnerable health systems.
He also warned that the effects of climate change would vary across regions and populations, with poor and vulnerable communities in developing economies likely to suffer the most.
He said the consequences of climate change could also affect other sectors, including health, shelter and security.
The initiative, he said, underscored the need for coordinated multi-sector responses and innovative health financing strategies to build resilient systems across Africa.
Osinbajo is expected to convene an inaugural high-level consultation in Sierra Leone from March 11 to March 13 alongside the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio.
The meeting will bring together senior ministers and national leaders to deliberate on advancing climate-health financing efforts in the region. (NAN)
