Nigeria Health Watch is set to host its 10th Future of Health Conference under the theme: “From Evidence to Action: Building Resilience at the Climate-Health Nexus,” focusing on the intersection of climate change and health and emphasizing the urgent need for actionable policies to mitigate climate-related health impacts, come October 23-24, 2024 in Abuja, Nigeria.
Nigeria Health Watch is a not-for-profit health communication and advocacy organization that advocates for better health for Nigerians by actively engaging and supporting the government in raising awareness and increasing knowledge on a wide range of health issues in Nigeria.
While addressing journalists ahead of the conference in Abuja on Monday, Asari Ndem, Communication Manager at Nigeria Health Watch said the conference will address how climate change affects health in Nigeria and beyond, with a special focus on strengthening the resilience of health systems to adapt to climate challenges. “The idea is that stakeholders in the health sector, donors, and media organizations can discuss the impact of climate actions on health and how to tackle it.”
Ndem said the 2025 Future of Health Conference will for the first time feature a Youth Pre-Conference session scheduled for October 23, 2024. “On Wednesday, we will have our first-ever youth conference which will provide “a platform for young people to discuss health issues and climate action. It’s particularly important because catalyzing climate actions involves getting the government and key stakeholders to take action. And young people are in the best position to voice that.”
A Decade of Advocacy: From Health Tech to Climate-Health Action
For the past decade, the Future of Health Conference has provided a platform for discussing critical health-related issues in Nigeria. From the theme of Universal Health Coverage (2015) to Private Sector as a Catalyst for a Resilient Health System (2023), each of the annual conference themes has tackled diverse topics aimed at improving Nigeria’s healthcare landscape.
Chibuike Alagboso, Deputy Director of Media Programs at Nigeria Health Watch, said climate-related events such as floods and droughts have already had significant impacts on health in Nigeria underscoring the recent flooding in Maiduguri and its effects on mental health, livelihoods, and increased cases of infectious diseases. “That’s the kind of connectivity we will be discussing in this year’s conference. We are looking at that nexus between climate issues and health.”
Alagboso also highlighted the conference’s broad lineup of speakers from across the public and private sectors who, he said will share their experiences and insights on building climate-resilient health systems. “It is a community effort. The conference will explore how climate change affects productivity, food security, and health – areas often overlooked in public discourse.”
Youth Pre-Conference: Amplifying Voices for Change
Christopher Bassey, Programme and Events Manager at Nigeria Health Watch, provided more details about the Youth Pre-Conference themed “Amplifying Youth Voices for Climate-Health Action.” Bassey said the pre-conference event will bring together young people from various fields such as health, agriculture, and environmental sectors to proffer solutions to the climate-health crisis in Nigeria. “The youth pre-conference is essentially providing a youth angle to climate-health nexus and offering solutions.”
The Youth-Pre Conference will also include exhibitions showcasing youth-led initiatives and strategies for addressing the impacts of climate change on health. A communique capturing the key takeaways from the youth pre-conference will be presented at the main conference on October 24, 2024.
Conference Objectives and Sub-Themes
The Future of Health Conference will spotlight the crucial connection between climate change and health, particularly in Nigeria and Africa. One of its primary goals is to amplify evidence on how climate change is impacting health, raising awareness among the public, policymakers, and healthcare stakeholders. By sharing this evidence, the event aims to drive more informed actions and discussions on creating climate-resilient health systems.
Collaboration will be a key priority of the conference i.e. bringing together scientists, health professionals, and various stakeholders from different sectors to exchange knowledge and develop cross-disciplinary strategies. The goal is to foster partnerships that can lead to practical, sustainable solutions in response to climate-related health challenges.
Several important sub-themes will be explored, including the effects of climate change on food security, the need to strengthen health systems to withstand global health threats, and the potential for public, private, and community partnerships to address the climate-health crisis in Nigeria.
Nigeria Health Watch believes this year’s Future of Health Conference will foster impactful conversations and catalyze solutions that address the urgent challenges at the climate-health nexus. Among others, discussions at the conference will focus on turning research and evidence into concrete actions for a healthier, more resilient future.