The latest Lancet Countdown Africa report delivers a stark message: climate change is rapidly becoming one of the greatest health threats on the African continent. Despite contributing very little to global greenhouse gas emissions, African countries are already suffering a disproportionate burden of climate‑related deaths and disease.
This article explores the report’s key findings, the human toll of recent disasters, the critical funding gap in climate adaptation, and how a new regional centre aims to strengthen Africa’s resilience at the intersection of climate and health.
Climate Change and Health in Africa: A Growing Emergency
For decades, scientists have warned that climate change would hit vulnerable regions hardest. The Lancet Countdown Africa report shows that this future is now a present-day reality.
In 2023, climate‑related health risks escalated sharply, with deadly consequences across the continent.
From intensifying heatwaves to recurrent floods and prolonged droughts, Africa is facing a cascade of climate shocks that strain already fragile health systems. These events undermine development and push communities to the edge of survival.
Extreme Weather Deaths Tripled in Just One Year
The report documents a dramatic rise in mortality linked to extreme weather. Deaths from climate‑related events tripled in 2023, surging from about 4,000 in 2022 to 15,000.
This escalation reflects the compounding nature of climate risks and the limited capacity of many countries to prepare for and respond to them. Several major disasters contributed to this grim toll, underscoring how climate extremes now regularly translate into large‑scale health emergencies.
Floods, Droughts, and the Human Cost of a Warming World
While climate models and graphs can appear abstract, the impacts described in the Lancet Countdown Africa report are intensely human. Lives, livelihoods, and local health systems are all being reshaped by increasingly unpredictable weather.
The report highlights a series of high‑impact events that illustrate the breadth and severity of the crisis.
Catastrophic Floods in Libya, Rwanda, and the DRC
In September 2023, Libya experienced one of the deadliest flood disasters in recent African history. Intense rainfall, amplified by a warming atmosphere, contributed to dam failures and devastating downstream flooding.
According to the report:
These events highlight how extreme rainfall, when combined with ageing infrastructure and limited early warning systems, can rapidly escalate into mass‑casualty disasters.
Drought in the Horn of Africa: Four Decades of Extremes
At the other end of the climate spectrum, the Horn of Africa endured its worst drought in 40 years between 2020 and 2023. Consecutive failed rainy seasons left millions facing water scarcity, crop failure, and livestock losses.
The health impacts of this prolonged drought are profound:
These slow‑onset crises are just as deadly as sudden disasters, but they often receive less global attention despite their long‑lasting health consequences.
Heat, Disease, and the Hidden Health Burden
Beyond the headline‑grabbing floods and droughts, climate change is quietly reshaping Africa’s disease landscape. Rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns are altering where and when pathogens and vectors can thrive.
The Lancet Countdown Africa report links climate change to a range of health threats, many of which are already familiar to African health systems but are becoming harder to control.
Heatwaves, Malnutrition, and Vector‑Borne Disease
Key climate‑health risks identified in the report include:
These health burdens interact with existing challenges such as poverty, conflict, and limited healthcare access, creating overlapping crises that are difficult to manage with current resources.
The Adaptation Funding Gap: A Barrier to Resilience
One of the report’s most sobering findings is the mismatch between the scale of Africa’s climate‑health risks and the resources available to address them. While emergency responses are essential, they are not a substitute for sustained investment in resilience.
Current adaptation finance falls far short of what is required to protect health and development gains across the continent.
Too Little, Too Late: Underfunded Adaptation Efforts
Between 2014 and 2018, Africa received only $16.5 billion in adaptation funding. This is just half the amount that went to climate mitigation efforts, such as reducing emissions.
This imbalance has several consequences:
The report calls for scaled‑up, flexible adaptation funding that can be tailored to local needs and directed toward protecting health, not just infrastructure or economic assets.
A New Regional Centre for Climate–Health Resilience
Recognizing the urgent need for region‑specific evidence and action, the Lancet Countdown has established a new regional centre for Africa. This initiative aims to strengthen the science‑policy interface and ensure that climate‑health decisions are grounded in robust, locally relevant data.
The centre represents a strategic shift toward empowering African institutions and experts to lead the climate‑health agenda on their own terms.
Amplifying African Voices in Global Climate Policy
The new centre will bring together researchers, public health specialists, and policymakers from across the continent to:
Professor Tafadzwa Mabhaudhi, director of Lancet Countdown Africa, emphasizes that the centre’s mission is not only technical but also political: to amplify African voices in global climate negotiations and move from high‑level commitments to concrete, on‑the‑ground action.
From Crisis to Opportunity: Turning Evidence into Action
The Lancet Countdown Africa report makes it clear that climate change is not a distant environmental issue—it is a present and accelerating health crisis.
It also outlines a pathway toward resilience, grounded in science, equity, and sustained investment.
By closing the adaptation funding gap and strengthening health and disaster‑response systems, there is an opportunity to protect lives.
Centring African expertise in decision‑making can safeguard development and build a healthier, climate‑resilient future for the continent.
Here is the source article for this story: Africa’s extreme weather deaths triple as climate adaptation funding lags: Lancet Countdown