To help countries in Africa turn climate and weather information into real, everyday health protection and action, the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) – World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Climate and Health Joint Programme, has officially launched the first Africa Climate–Health Desk hosted at ACMAD in Niamey, Niger. As extreme heat and other climate and health hazards intensify across the continent, the new Desk is designed to translate and transmit life-saving climate intelligence to reach health authorities, hospitals, communities and decision-makers who need it most.

The Africa Climate-Health Desk, a specialized unit hosted within a climate and meteorological Centre, is the first of its kind at the regional level in Africa, and second launched globally as part of a comprehensive effort led by the WHO-WMO Joint Programme with funding from Wellcome and The Rockefeller Foundation. It will help close the long-standing gap between climate science and public health decision-making by supporting health-relevant climate and weather advisories and bulletins, developing data-driven thresholds that reflect risks to people, and fostering true co-production between meteorological and health institutions. The Desk will strengthen know-how and build skills across sectors by offering practical training, fellowships, and hands-on support for both national and regional partners; and facilitate closer collaboration between ACMAD and its regional and international partners, such as the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organization, and the African Centers for Disease Control, and the Weather and Climate Information Services Programme (WISER) under the UK Met Office.

The Africa Climate–Health Desk is launched during the Continental Knowledge-Sharing Workshop, under the Africa Continental Climate Outlook Forum (ACCOF). The ACCOF is a quarterly event which brings together climate scientists from WMO-designated and emerging Regional Climate Centres, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), with sectoral partners from across Africa.

Tailoring climate–health services for Africa

Africa is experiencing increasingly frequent and intense climate extremes. Heatwaves, floods, and droughts are placing growing pressure on health systems, food and water security, and national economies. These environmental extremes are also changing the distribution and timing of vector-borne diseases including malaria and dengue, and triggering compound risks such as dust and heat, increasing the risk of meningitis.

To date, the availability, access, and use of information about the weather and climate — and how it can be used to inform health planning and prevention – has been limited in Africa. Scaling up capacity, partnerships, and tailored climate information—like impact-based early warnings that signal when heat or other hazards begin to threaten people’s health—is essential for earlier and more effective prevention and response. The Africa Climate–Health Desk will address this gap by providing new services which:

• Translate climate information into health intelligence by producing tailored climate–health information and advisories such as heatwave bulletins and malaria-climate risk outlooks to support health authorities anticipate and respond to health risks related to climate conditions.
• Strengthen Meningitis Early Warning System, through collaboration with partners such as WISER and the University of Reading, integrating climate forecasts with epidemiological and environmental data to anticipate disease outbreaks and emergencies response plans.
• Foster collaboration between climate and health communities – meteorological services, health officers, researchers, and regional partners – to collaboratively design and deploy climate services that meet urgent health-decision needs, and put in place lasting systems that will keep these services running for the long term. The desk will also support the integration of climate information into health adaptation planning and preparedness strategies.
• Support capacity building, research and knowledge brokering through on-the-job training, a visiting scientist program, e-courses, convening of national focal points for health at National Meteorological Services in Africa, along with health partner engagement.
• Promote information sharing, knowledge exchange and innovation by developing a data portal and climate-health dashboards to facilitate access to climate products, tools, and resources that support climate-resilient health systems across Africa.

“Climate change is reshaping health risks across Africa, challenging countries to stay one step ahead. Our real opportunity lies in anticipation: Africa cannot afford to wait for emergencies to unfold. Our desk will build and strengthen collaboration with WMO and WHO, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) – and partners such as WISER, Clim-Health Africa, and many others, to support integrating climate information into health decisions so leaders can act earlier, reduce risks, and strengthen resilience where it matters most”, said Dr Ousmane Ndiaye, Director-General of ACMAD. “With our Climate Services Expert Sandrine Wendlasida Combéré leading the Desk, we now have a dedicated point of connection building bridges between the meteorological and health community across the region, so that climate information directly supports prevention, preparedness, and protection of people’s lives and livelihoods.”

The Africa Climate–Health Desk is part of a broader global rollout of Climate–Health Desks across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, designed to build capacity, support research, and turn climate intelligence into practical health action. Supported by Wellcome and The Rockefeller Foundation, as part of the Climate and Health Science and Service Accelerator, the Desks will help health systems receive the climate intelligence they need to better safeguard and protect health.

“The launch of the Africa Climate–Health Desk marks an important milestone creating, for the first time, a regional multi-disciplinary team who can innovate, consolidate, and strengthen authoritative information on climate risks to health,” said Joy Shumake-Guillemot, Head of the WHO–WMO Climate and Health Joint Programme.

“Following the launch of the South Asia Climate–Health Desk based in India last month, today we take another step toward ensuring that climate and health communities are better connected, better informed, speak the same language, and are equipped to better work together on concrete analytics and decision-support tools. Ultimately, this means local leaders know what to do when severe weather warnings are issued; families know how to protect themselves from extreme heat and when to seek care; and health workers receive the right alerts so they can respond effectively. In short: earlier warnings, better planning, clearer advice, and faster local response,” said Shumake-Guillemot.