This brief from the webinar on Climate, land rights and agroecological links to pandemics summarises key issues raised related to: climate links to land and agro-ecology in the region and the impacts on health equity and pandemics; actions proposed to address these issues at local, national, regional and in global level processes; and issues for further research and discussion. The session noted that current agricultural practices in East and Southern Africa are creating significant environmental and health challenges. Industrial agriculture relies heavily on chemical pesticides, which contribute to biodiversity loss, soil and water pollution, and increased zoonotic disease risks, exacerbating climate change impacts and creating conditions that make communities more vulnerable to pandemics. To address these challenges webinar speakers and participants noted that policies need to be re-oriented to support smallholder farmers and provide land security. Trade agreements that undermine seed sovereignty must be rejected and a One Health approach must be implemented to manage zoonotic disease risks. The brief emphasizes the importance of integrating climate adaptation and food security into local and national plans, and ensuring that farmer-led solutions are central to trade, investment, and climate policy discussions.
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In 2024 the regional community of practice on urban health in EQUINET proposed 10 recommendations on areas of practice and policy to build, enable and amplify climate-responsive integrated healthy urban food, waste and ecosystems in ESA. A brief (on the EQUINET website) indicates that we already have many examples of practices in these areas. This call is seeking case study examples of promising sustained practice, policy or measures within urban and peri-urban areas in ESA countries or if relevant at regional level relevant to water, energy, green spaces, climate and local economies that show innovation in one or more of the five areas The selected case studies should be drafted in May 2025 and provide evidence showing the learning in a 5-6 page brief with photographs written in an accessible style on the specific practice(s) underway that demonstrate one or more of the five areas. These five areas are explained in the call with the details requested to be sent by those responding. EQUINET will provide review, copy edit and layout and publishing of the case study in July 2025 for wider dissemination on the EQUINET website and in an updated recommendations brief. The authors will be integrated into activities and partnerships of the regional community of practice on urban health.
This webinar discusses the most critical drivers of climate-related migration in the region and how they affect differentials in both opportunities for and threats to improved wellbeing. We hear from key panellists from community, national and international/global lens and discuss how far current policies and actions address the health risks and benefits of climate-related mobility, and what strategies and integrated approaches can prevent or mitigate the risks and maximise benefits. Register now in advance to receive a confirmation email with further information on the meeting and your link to join.
Call for applicants for the 2025 online training in Health Impact Assessment closing 5pm February 4 2025. EQUINET is through TARSC and in association with regional (SATUCC, Talk AB[M]R) ECSA Health Community and international partners (Nossal Institute of Global Health, C Dora) convening online training and mentored case work to build HIA capacities in ESA countries. The course will provide materials and interactive presentations on the policy and legal basis of HIA, the steps, methods, evidence, analysis in and reporting of an HIA, and the monitoring of recommendations. Trainees will plan and implement a mentored case study HIA in teams over the course period. The capacity building will be implemented in ten online (zoom) training sessions in four course blocks, staggered at intervals between April 28 and July 31 2025. After two or three online course sessions of 2 hours each in a block, there will be a month before the next block to give time for 2 online tutorials with mentors to guide teams to work at self-arranged times on the HIA steps covered in the training for their own case studies. There will be four course blocks in the period. Participants satisfactorily completing the course will receive a certificate of completion. This document outlines the information for applicants for the course.
Climate justice and equity, is an urgent issue for communities, countries, and the region, and intersects with, impacts on and is intensified by other areas of inequality that the Regional Network for Equity in Health in east and southern Africa (EQUINET) is focused on. Given this, EQUINET is sharing knowledge, experiences and learning on health equity impacts of climate in webinars on various areas of health equity. The sixth webinar and this brief from it focuses on the interplay between land rights, climate agro-ecology, and pandemic risks. The webinar interrogated these relationships at the local, national and global levels and suggested actions to be taken to mitigate the impacts particularly on these drivers of health and well-being of people and natural resources.
EQUINET identifies health equity as being affected by conditions and actions across multiple thematic areas. It sought to understand the intersect between climate change and health equity through the outcomes of five webinars and two rapid reviews and an online review meeting organised to explore these intersects. The webinars and briefs focused on selected thematic areas EQUINET has identified as central to health equity in the region, including health rights, food systems, urban health, extractives and health, trade and health, primary health care and tax justice. This synthesis report presents a thematic analysis of the briefs from the webinars and rapid reviews (separately available on the EQUINET website), and from an online review meeting on the findings. It outlines how climate change is intersecting with the various dimensions of health equity, including social inequalities and vulnerabilities in health, and the approaches underway or proposed to address these impacts and to promote health equity in the face of climate change, including for future work in EQUINET. It is shared as an interim product that we will update following EQUINET’s ongoing work in 2025.
There are many examples of healthy, equitable, climate-adapted urban food and waste management practices underway in the east and southern Africa region. These practices integrate waste management, clean energy and green urban ecosystems. They demonstrate multi-sector, multi-actor collaborative planning, informed by disaggregated evidence of different forms, building coalitions that share goals, ideas and ownership, and bring diverse resources and skills to processes. They show how a holistic, circular economy links the 3Rs (reduce, recycle, reuse) to reclaim vacant land with waste dumps for gardens that enable urban agriculture; that use bio-waste for energy and that develop and use local technology innovations. These initiatives integrate equity, incomes and food security to bring sustainable benefit and improved health and nutrition for often marginalised groups. They integrate health and climate justice in reduced air and water pollution, reduce emissions from waste burning, reduce flooding from clogged drains, enrich soil through organic fertilisers, and climate proof infrastructures. In iterative steps, they assess, review and improve practice, and in so doing strengthen social respect for healthy ecosystems as a source of economic and social benefit and reduced ill health. An EQUINET community of practice on urban health proposed 10 areas of action for scaling up such practices. The recommendations to build, enable and amplify such practice are shown in the brief. In each there are examples of promising practice, guidance, methods, tools and experience to share, with hyperlinks to read further information on each example. Information is also given on where to submit your own examples, as the brief will be updated over time.
This brief provides a rapid review of literature and public evidence from various sources on the interface between financing climate justice, tax justice and health equity1. Prior EQUINET webinars on other areas of health equity raised growing concerns on the lack of delivery on commitments made for climate financing in the region. The brief thus complements the work done in previous EQUINET webinars on how climate justice interacts with different facets of health equity, available on the EQUINET website. All briefs from the webinars are being synthesised in a separate discussion document. This brief summarises key issues related to: climate financing in the region and the links to tax and economic justice and health equity; actions proposed to address these issues at local, national and regional level and in international/ global level processes; and issues for further research and discussion.
East and southern African (ESA) countries have achieved many gains in health, but also face many health challenges, including from commercial risks and the challenges of climate change. Poverty and inequality continues to affect opportunities to lead healthy lives. This context, the region’s policy commitment to primary health care and the need for action by many sectors to address the drivers of ill health calls for authorities, approaches and tools that more firmly lever evidence, and multi-sectoral action to protect and improve health. In the same way as environmental impact assessment was institutionalized in the ESA region to play a role in protecting ecosystems, health impact assessment similarly needs to be institutionalized to embed evidence and health promoting changes in wider activities, systems and policies that raise health risks. Policy leaders in Africa recognized this in the WHO AFRO Regional Multi-sectoral Strategy to promote health and well-being, 2023–2030, with a target by 2030 to have institutionalized and integrated health impact assessment .
Assessing the effect of policies, strategies, corporate and economic activities on health is a core capability to protect public health. Health impact assessment (HIA) helps to identify where changes to project design or operation provide health benefits and mitigate health risks, adding economic value and wellbeing. HIA is a structured process that informs decision makers about the potential effects of a project, programme, economic activity or policy on the health and well-being of populations. In 2023, EQUINET and partners initiated work to provide online training and mentored case study work to build HIA capacities in multi-actor teams in ESA countries. The course built understanding of the theoretical basis of HIA, and knowledge of the methods, evidence, analysis in an HIA, of reporting of and engagement on HIA, and implementation and monitoring of proposed actions. It provided mentored guidance of participant HIA practical work, using real HIA case studies. Towards the end of the course there was discussion on issues and strategies for scaling up and integrating HIA in key sectors and in public health law. This report summarises the proceedings and issues raised.