The Pan-African Conference on Environment, Climate Change and Health, held at the Emara Ole Sereni Convention Centre in Nairobi, brought together over 130 scientists, researchers, and practitioners from around 15 African countries (as well as delegates from outside the continent). It was a rare convergence of academic insight, government leadership, and NGO and research institution engagement, focused on strengthening environmental sustainability and climate-health resilience.

What made the conference especially valuable was its focus on how evidence moves into policy, financing decisions, and implementation. Africa faces a disproportionate share of climate-sensitive health burdens, and the urgency in the room reflected that reality.

A key moment in the plenary sessions was a presentation from WHO representatives on the global distribution of climate-health research. Their mapping highlighted a stark imbalance: while Europe and North and South America are rich in climate-health studies, vast parts of Africa remain under-studied — including regions in Central, West, East and Southern Africa. The implication was clear: without a stronger regionally grounded evidence base, African countries risk relying on policies and models that are not designed for our contexts.

Another key highlight was Kenya’s use of the conference space to launch its Kenya Climate Change and Health Strategy (2024–2029). Seeing a concrete policy outcome emerge within the conference timeline was a strong example of what becomes possible when research, practice, and political leadership align.

Strengthening the climate–health–policy link

Across plenary talks and breakout sessions, one consistent message was that the climate–health–policy nexus depends on more than strong science. It depends on stronger data systems, clearer pathways for translating into decision-making, and political will to support implementation. Speakers emphasised the value of linking meteorological, epidemiological, and social determinants of health data — not as an academic exercise, but as a practical foundation for adaptation planning.

Partnership as a practical mechanism
One of the most energising aspects of the conference was the intersectoral mix: ministries, environmental agencies, academia, NGOs, and development partners in direct conversation about coordination and collaboration. There was broad agreement that no single institution can deliver climate-health resilience on its own.

At the same time, the conference also revealed how weak the enabling systems for partnership still are in many contexts. Data is often centralised or siloed, governance arrangements are unclear, and incentives for data openness and collaboration remain limited. Ghana is not exempt from these realities.

Reflections for Ghana
For Ghana, addressing fragmentation requires more than ad hoc collaborations. It calls for a more structured mechanism that connects key institutions across health, environment, meteorology, statistics, universities, and civil society — with clear approaches to interoperability, access, and use. Strengthening digital infrastructure and data science capacity would also make a meaningful difference, especially if paired with regular “data-to-policy” dialogues that translate shared evidence into timely decisions.

Financing also came up repeatedly. Many researchers noted that, even as global climate funding grows, climate-health work remains under-resourced, particularly in sustaining local research ecosystems and scaling interventions beyond pilot stages. Political commitment was another recurring theme, with implementation raised as a persistent weak point. There was a strong call for climate-health integration to be embedded through budgets, legal mandates, and accountability mechanisms.

What this meant for me, and why it matters for CASCADE
The conference was a call to action. I left Nairobi convinced that transdisciplinary collaboration is the only path forward. We need more spaces where climatologists, epidemiologists, environmental scientists, economists, and social scientists work together to generate actionable knowledge that supports adaptation and protects health.

This experience also aligned strongly with CASCADE’s objectives, particularly its emphasis on science-to-policy translation, collaboration, and strengthening African-led research partnerships. During the conference, I had a fruitful interaction with Mudarshiru, a CASCADE PhD student from East Africa, which has since evolved into a collaborative initiative. We are working toward co-authoring a scientific paper that brings together researchers from West and East Africa, focusing on air quality monitoring, modelling, and health outcomes in Ghana and Uganda. I see this as one practical example of how cross-regional collaboration can generate comparative insights and strengthen regional climate-health policy thinking.

Conclusion
As we look ahead to the next conference in Senegal, I will continue working closely with my postdoctoral team to develop scientific proposals that can contribute to climate-health solutions and inform climate-health policy in Ghana.

Authored By: Francis Adarkwah (PhD), Postdoctoral Researcher, CASCADE – IESS, University of Ghana. Edited by: Alacia Armstrong, CASCADE Communications and MERL lead.

Acknowledgement
I sincerely thank the Building Capacity to Crosslink Coastal Pollution with Climate Change (BC5) Project for sponsoring my participation in the 2025 Pan-African Conference on Environment, Climate Change and Health in Nairobi. The experience strengthened my understanding of emerging strategies linking environment, climate, and health, and will inform my research and future project development.