The Belém Health Action Plan (BHAP) was launched at COP30 held in Belém, Brazil, as the first-ever global framework dedicated to addressing the vital intersection between climate change and health risks.

• BHAP represents a critical milestone in elevating health as a central pillar of climate adaptation, specifically responding to increasing climate-related health threats such as heatwaves, vector-borne diseases, and disruptions to food and water security.

About Belém Health Action Plan (BHAP)

Guiding Principles

• BHAP is anchored in the principles of health equity, climate justice, and participatory governance.
• It aims to reinforce resilient health systems capable of coping with climate challenges, with special focus on vulnerable populations and communities.

Alignment with COP30 Agenda

• The plan contributes directly to Objective 16 of the COP30 Action Agenda, which prioritizes strengthening health system resilience amid climate pressures.

Goals of BHAP

• Integrate health priorities within global and national climate action frameworks.
• Mitigate health vulnerabilities and bolster climate adaptation efforts.
• Provide a roadmap for countries to enhance the resilience of health systems and foster community participation in policymaking and implementation.

Action items for Climate-Resilient Health Systems: It outlines 60 action items under three Lines of Action for Climate-Resilient Health Systems.

• Strengthen climate-informed health surveillance and early warning systems to timely identify and respond to climate-induced health risks.
• Integrate meteorological, environmental, and public health data to improve epidemiological tracking and predictive capabilities.
• Emphasize training of local health workforce and community-based surveillance to ensure effective grassroots responses.

1. Evidence-Based Policies, Strategies, and Capacity-Building

• Promote the use of up-to-date scientific knowledge in health policymaking, strategic planning, and capacity enhancement of health systems.
• Ensure equity-focused interventions, targeting marginalized and vulnerable groups.
• Foster intersectoral collaboration across health governance, emergency response, and climate adaptation sectors for holistic solutions.

2. Innovation, Production, and Digital Health

• Support research, innovation, and technology transfer to build climate-resilient healthcare infrastructure and improve diagnostics and treatments adaptative to climate stresses.
• Encourage local and sustainable production of medicines, medical equipment, and climate adaptation technologies.
• Expand digital health services and telemedicine to maintain healthcare access during climate disruptions.

Significance of BHAP

• Mainstream Health: The plan underscores the critical need to mainstream health in climate adaptation planning.
  • According to estimates by the World Bank Group, climate change could result in 14.5-15.6 million deaths by 2050.
• Resilient Health Systems: BHAP fosters resilient health systems while promoting justice and participation, effectively helping to bridge the adaptation gap.
• Funding: At COP30 in Belém, over 35 global philanthropies pledged $300 million for the Climate and Health Funders Coalition.

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Challenges

• Funding Deficit: The substantial gap between available funding and required resources poses a major barrier to advancing climate-health adaptation at scale.
  • Experts highlight that the initial investment falls significantly short of the annual US$11 billion estimated to meet basic health adaptation needs globally.
  • Between 2019 and 2023, only about 4% of total multilateral climate adaptation finance was allocated to health-related activities.
  • Moreover, just 44% of countries have costed their health adaptation needs comprehensively.
• Complexity in Integration: Aligning financial flows, policy frameworks, and local participation remains a complex challenge that could weaken global coherence in tackling climate-health risks.
• Limited Adoption: Despite over 80 endorsements from NGOs, health think tanks, and UN agencies, only a few national governments have formally adopted BHAP.
• Vulnerable Groups: The plan stresses the necessity for tailored adaptation strategies addressing specific needs of women, youth, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, migrants, and other historically marginalized groups disproportionately affected by climate change.

Way Forward for Effective Implementation of BHAP

1. Integrate BHAP in National Plans: Incorporate BHAP objectives into national health and climate adaptation strategies with multisectoral coordination to ensure contextualized, sustainable implementation.
2. Scale Innovative Finance: Mobilize diverse public and private funding sources, including new financial instruments, to meet the significant health adaptation financing gap.
3. Build Capacity and Include Vulnerable Communities: Train health workers in climate-informed surveillance; actively involve marginalized groups in decision-making for equitable adaptation outcomes.
4. Promote Research, Monitoring, and Innovation: Invest in multidisciplinary research, real-time data systems, and development of climate-resilient health technologies, focusing on locally adapted solutions.
5. Strengthen Regional and Global Cooperation: Enhance international partnerships for knowledge sharing, joint early-warning systems, technology transfer, and coordinated health emergency responses.

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