Tag: Climate Change
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Nigeria: Early health preparedness protects families during seasonal floods in Adamawa State
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In flood-prone Adamawa State, north-east Nigeria, early health preparedness helped protect thousands of vulnerable people from preventable disease outbreaks during the 2025 rainy season.
Through a government-led intervention coordinated by the Adamawa State Ministry of Health (SMOH) with technical support from the World Health Organization (WHO), health teams were deployed ahead of peak flooding in seven high-risk local government areas: Yola South, Yola North, Numan, Girei, Lamurde, Fufore and Demsa.
The actions were funded by the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Government and People of Japan. The anticipatory response focused on preventing malaria, cholera and other flood-related diseases, while ensuring continuity of essential health services for displaced and vulnerable populations.
Reaching communities before the floods
In Fadde Gassol, Yola South, 25-year-old pregnant Aisha Bello received a long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN), malaria prevention, and antenatal care from a WHO/CERF-supported mobile health team.
“The medical team came before the floods became worse,” she said. “This prepared me to stay healthy and deliver my baby safely.”
Her experience reflects the broader impact of early action across affected communities.
Life-saving results
As flooding disrupted access to several settlements, health teams delivered integrated services, including malaria and acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) management, maternal and child health care, routine immunisation, nutrition screening, mental health support, hygiene promotion and referrals for gender-based violence services.
With CERF and Government of Japan funding, and WHO technical support:
• 5000 LLINs were distributed to high-risk households to prevent malaria.
• 3000 pregnant women accessed antenatal care, with hundreds receiving intermittent preventive treatment for malaria.
• Three Oral Rehydration Points (ORPs) and three Cholera Treatment Centres (CTCs) were established to ensure rapid cholera response.
• 250 sanitation facilities were disinfected, and key water sources chlorinated to reduce cholera transmission.
• Thousands of people received cholera and hygiene prevention messages.
• Hundreds of displaced households received WASH dignity kits to support safe sanitation and hygiene practices.
“We crossed flooded paths to reach communities that had not seen a health worker in weeks,” said Fatima Musa, a frontline health worker. “Despite the difficulties, communities welcomed us and trusted our support.”
Strengthening local preparedness
WHO also supported state-level emergency preparedness, especially for cholera, through:
• Prepositioning of emergency medical supplies
• Training of frontline health workers
• Strengthening disease surveillance and early warning systems
• Supporting coordination through the Adamawa State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC)
“CERF and Japan's support enabled us to move before the crisis peaked,” said Dr Abdulhakeem Yusuf, WHO Adamawa State Coordinator. “This prevented outbreaks, reduced suffering and protected the most vulnerable, especially women and children.”
Strong coordination through PHEOC
Coordination for flood preparedness and response was conducted through the Adamawa State PHEOC, bringing together key partners including WHO, OCHA, UNFPA, SEMA, the Nigerian Red Cross Society, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and local humanitarian organisations.
“Strong coordination helped us move early and reach more people before needs escalated,” said Momsiri Wesley Biyama, Head of OCHA Sub-Office in Adamawa.
Huzaifatu Mohammed, Adamawa Branch Secretary of the Nigerian Red Cross Society, added:
“Our volunteers worked alongside health teams in difficult terrain. Through the PHEOC coordination mechanism, services reached communities that would otherwise have been cut off.”
Sustaining the gains
Despite the progress, recurring floods driven by climate change continue to pose risks. Additional investments are needed to expand anticipatory action, strengthen surveillance, improve WASH infrastructure and reach more remote communities.
WHO, the Adamawa State Government and partners remain committed to sustaining and scaling these interventions ahead of future flood seasons to protect lives and strengthen community resilience.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) - Nigeria.Africa rallies around forest innovation as African Forestry and Wildlife Commission (AFWC25) opens in The Gambia
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The 25th Session of the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission (AFWC25) has opened in Banjul, The Gambia, with a clear call for African countries to scale up innovation and reinforce political commitment to protect and restore Africa's forests and wildlife.
Delegates from across the continent are attending the week-long meeting, organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and hosted by the Government of The Gambia, under the theme Innovative and Inclusive Forest and Wildlife Resources Management for Africa.
Against a backdrop of rising climate risks, accelerating biodiversity loss, and growing demand for forest products, AFWC25 aims to strengthen collective action on sustainable forest and wildlife management and guide FAO's technical support in the coming biennium.
In his opening address, H.E. Muhammed B. S. Jallow, Vice President of the Republic of The Gambia, welcomed delegates and emphasised the country's commitment to environmental stewardship.
“Hosting this important Africa Forestry and Wildlife Commission meeting here in Banjul is both a privilege and a statement of intent,” he said. “It is a clear message that The Gambia positions firmly among the nations of Africa that have chosen to protect, not exploit; to restore, not destroy; and to act, not just talk about our environment.”
He highlighted significant reforms undertaken in recent years, including the National Forest Policy (2023–2032), strengthened national institutions, and decisive actions against illegal logging.
“My government took a bold and irreversible step to ban all timber exports, revoke all illegal felling permits, and disrupt the cross-border trafficking of rosewood that was devastating our environment,” he said. “Forest degradation has slowed, reforestation is increasing, and community forestry programmes continue to expand across the country.”
The Vice President also underscored the central role of partnerships, especially with FAO: “FAO's support has been consistent in community forestry programmes, mangrove restoration, biodiversity protection, forest management and capacity strengthening across the sector.”
FAO calls for integrated action to unlock the full potential of Africa's forests
FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa, Abebe Haile-Gabriel, commended The Gambia for its achievements and reaffirmed FAO's commitment to supporting African Member States as they work to strengthen the sustainability and resilience of forests and wildlife.
“FAO continues to work with countries to unlock the potential of forests, trees and wildlife in transforming agrifood systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind,” he said.
He also emphasised the urgency of coordinated action across sectors: “The challenge before us, notably climate change, biodiversity loss, wildfires, and land degradation, continue to impact economies, agrifood systems and livelihoods. This reality underscores the urgency of our shared responsibility,” he stressed.
The Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources of The Gambia, Hon. Rohey John Manjang, underscored the importance of forests and wildlife to the nation's environmental and cultural heritage, highlighting that community-based forest management models now cover over 30 percent of the country's forest estate.
Drawing attention to the global importance of Africa's forests and wildlife, the Chairperson of the Committee on Forestry (COFO), Pierre Taty, highlighted key initiatives driving progress across the continent, including the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme, which supports over 400 million people who rely on wild meat for nutrition. He noted that while African countries have pledged to restore more than 100 million hectares of degraded land, under 9 percent has been restored to date, emphasising the need to accelerate efforts through the newly proclaimed UN Decade for Afforestation and Reforestation (2027–2036). He urged delegates to deliver strong recommendations to guide the work of COFO and FAO in the years ahead.
The outcomes of AFWC25 will feed into the 28th Session of the Committee on Forestry and the 34th FAO Regional Conference for Africa in 2026.
AFWC25 at a glance
Throughout the week, AFWC25 delegates will examine key forestry and wildlife priorities for the continent, including:
innovative financing mechanisms for forestry and wildlife;
sustainable management of forests and wildlife in Small Island Developing States;
strengthening cross-sectoral linkages for resilient agrifood systems;
sustainable forest-based bioeconomy approaches; and
the interconnection between forestry, wildlife, forest foods and agrifood systems.
In parallel, the Ninth African Forestry and Wildlife Week (AFWW9) will feature a series of side events and exhibitions led by The Gambia, showcasing national achievements in forest and wildlife management. These events will highlight innovative approaches to community forestry, progress in biodiversity protection, and successful models of ecosystem restoration, while offering a platform for delegates to explore practical solutions that can be adapted and scaled across Africa.
Delegates will also participate in a field excursion to observe local forestry and wildlife initiatives first-hand.
About the AFWC
Established in 1959, the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission is one of FAO's Regional Forestry Commissions. It provides a platform for African countries to review progress, share experiences, and guide FAO's technical support on sustainable forest and wildlife management.
AFWC25 is taking place from 1–5 December 2025 in Banjul, The Gambia.
See more on the AFWC25 website. Follow #AFWC25.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): Regional Office for Africa.Time Is Running Out to Close Continent’s Massive Infrastructure and Climate-Finance Gap – 2025 Africa Investment Forum Panel Warns
Senior policymakers, investors, and development finance leaders converged at the 2025 Africa Investment Forum Market Days on Thursday to tackle one of the continent's most pressing challenges: unlocking the capital required to meet surging infrastructure and climate demands.
The high-level panel, titled "Innovative Finance Instruments Powering Africa's Sustainable Transformation,” served as a clear call to action for adopting new approaches beyond conventional funding models and into a new era of investment.
Moderated by Boston Consulting Group's Partner and Managing Director, Zineb Sqalli, the session opened with a stark assessment: By 2050, Africa will add one billion people, more than half in cities, yet it invests only $75 billion of the $150 billion it needs annually for infrastructure.
The climate-finance gap is even wider, with the continent receiving just $30 billion of the $300 billion required each year. “This gap is massive, but it is also a great opportunity,” Sqalli said, highlighting the growth of blended finance, Islamic green bonds, diaspora vehicles and new infrastructure platforms.
Setting a determined tone, Dr Obaid Saif Hamad Al-Zaabi, Chairman of the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development, called for a fundamental shift in how food systems are financed.
With climate pressures and food insecurity rising across Africa and the Arab world, he called for treating the food-security value chain as a strategic asset class. “Climate change is no longer an environmental issue -- it is a financial risk on our balance sheets,” he warned.
Al-Zaabi advocated for expanded guarantees, sustainable finance instruments and specialised vehicles for smallholder farmers, whom he called the “engine” of Africa's food system. He further added that digitalisation, is vital to reduce information asymmetry and build investor trust.
On broader investment readiness, Amadou Hott, Chairman of the Africa Advisory Board of Vision Invest and former Senegalese Minister of Economy, said the continent's most severe bottleneck remains the scarcity of bankable projects.
“If we want to transform the continent, we need to multiply what we are doing today by 100 or even 150,” he said. Hott stressed the need for far stronger project-preparation capacity and pointed to currency risk as a major deterrent.
He urged African governments to mobilise more domestic capital - from sovereign wealth funds, pension assets and reserves -- much of which is currently invested offshore.
Dr Nasser Al-Kahtani, Executive Director of the Arab Gulf Programme for Development, emphasised that Africa cannot meet its development targets without deepening inclusive finance.
“Seventy percent of the food we eat comes from small farmers. They save the world, but cannot feed themselves,” Al-Kahtani said, urging blended-finance structures that shift countries “from grants to investment” while building equity for micro-entrepreneurs.
A private sector perspective on financing Africa's infrastructure gap was presented by Jacques Kanga, Director and Head of Finance at Algest Investment Bank. Kanga outlined how targeted financial instruments could be the key to mobilizing private capital and closing the continent's estimated annual $130 billion to $170 billion funding shortfall.
He identified infrastructure Special Purpose Vehicles that reduce sovereign and political risk, blended-finance structures that lower project costs, and diaspora-backed financing that taps into the $95 billion Africans abroad send home each year. According to Kanga these tools, reinforce transparency, governance and global investor confidence.
Ouns Lemseffer, Partner at Ashurst, highlighted progress across the continent, with several countries adopting advanced securitisation and sustainable-finance laws that enable project bonds, Sukuk, debt funds and innovative financing for electrification initiatives such as Côte d'Ivoire's Programme Électricité Pour Tous.
But she cautioned that progress remains uneven. “A sophisticated legal framework in one area is not enough,” Lemseffer said. “Policymakers need a holistic approach -- from investor rules to bankruptcy protection -- to fully open capital markets to long-term infrastructure investment.”
As the session closed the message from the high-level panel was definitive. Innovative finance is indispensable for Africa's future. Panelists converged on a unified vision where new financial instruments are central to mobilizing the scale of capital required to meet the continent's immense demographic, climate, and economic ambitions, effectively converting opportunities into transformative, investable projects across Africa.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).Click here (https://apo-opa.co/4rnvNvP) for photos.
Contact:
Wilberforce Kwasi
Communication and External Relations Department
Email: media@afdb.org
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