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It’s easy to get caught up in what’s new in climate-health. But this week’s stories are on getting things right: the systems, the gaps…progress that might just last.
Treezer Michelle Atieno - Editor
Digital health in many ways holds the key to getting healthcare ready for climate change in Africa. It improves disease surveillance and access to care during disasters through tools like telemedicine. However, digital health access will need more than innovations and connectivity, as discussed in the just concluded 2025 World Health Expo in Nairobi, Kenya.
“While internet penetration in Africa has grown, digital literacy is also needed to advance digital health. It’s as essential as knowing how to take a temperature or administer an injection,” said Sean Blaschke, the Chief of Digital Health at UNICEF.
Other challenges discussed include weak data protection, fragmented regulation, slow product approvals, limited local datasets and biased AI benchmarks which hinder scale and trust.
Our take: Digital tools enable access to care in the event of a climate-induced health crisis…Read more (2 min)
The Scientific Conference on Medical Product Regulation in Africa (SCoMRA) 2025 is coming up from 11th November in Kenya. It is the biggest conference on medical products regulation in the continent. Attending the conference enables health practitioners and businesses to be informed on the latest developments in health products certification.
The conference’s theme this year is Regulatory Harmonisation: “Unlocking Africa’s Potential in Health Product Manufacturing and Trade. This suggests a strong emphasis on local manufacturing, which is a climate-smart strategy for the healthcare industry.
One of the critical factors for sustainable manufacturing in Africa, according to Africa CDC, is ensuring that African manufacturers have access to efficient and harmonised regulatory pathways. Other events in this tracker include the Second AI in Health Africa Conference and more.
Find out more about the events…Read more (2 min)
Over the past three months, nearly $2 million has been committed to a total of four projects that strengthen Africa’s medicines regulatory systems, according to a new Healthcare Rising project tracker. The four initiatives will modernise drug oversight through digital tools, artificial intelligence, improved pharmaceutical vigilance and collaboration.
Funded largely by the Gates Foundation, the projects will be implemented by organisations including the African Union Development Agency–New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) and the University of the Western Cape.
The largest project is the WHO initiative to strengthen Africa’s regulatory systems through continent-wide harmonisation in medicine quality oversight.
Our take: Substandard and falsified medicines cost Africa more than $30 billion every year, draining already limited health budgets and reducing treatment effectiveness…Read more (2 min)
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(Source: WHO AFRO)
The WHO AFRO and the Africa CDC sign a framework of collaboration to strengthen their partnership on disease prevention and control and universal health coverage across the African continent
Jobs
🧑⚕️ Be a Programme Officer, Digital Health at Mal Consultancy (Kenya)
🧑⚕️ Be Health Service Delivery Expert at MSH (Kenya)
🧑⚕️ Become a Health Specialist at DAI (Malawi)
Various
💉 Africa seeks self-reliance in health amid disease outbreaks
💉 Health partners urges Africa to lead the climate-health agenda
💉 Africa launches health accelerator for pandemic preparedness
Seen on LinkedIn
Caroline Muthoni, a Senior Global Health Expert, says, “Health professionals are on the frontline of the climate crisis, yet many still lack access to training that connects their clinical and policy work to climate resilience. One thing is certain, building the capacity of African health professionals is critical to effectively respond to climate-related health impacts.”____________