Tackling the health impacts of climate change
We’ve funded partnerships between researchers in sub-Saharan Africa and the UK to explore the impacts of climate change on health.
Climate change is a severe and continually growing threat to human health globally. Current estimates suggest that climate change-related illness and disease will cause a quarter of a million additional deaths per year, between 2030 and 2050.
Estimating the scale and range of the effects of climate change on our health, or identifying the measures needed to mitigate them, is extremely difficult. That’s why research in this area is so urgently needed.
Over the last few years, we’ve funded partnerships between 30 researchers in sub-Saharan Africa and the UK to investigate the impacts on air quality and lung health, disease transmission, maternal health, and more.
Through our Emerging Leaders Prize, we have built on this support, funding future science leaders in the UK to advance their research and careers. Although these initiatives have only just begun, their impact on people affected by climate change will be felt for many years to come.
Air pollution and respiratory health in Nigeria
Dr Obianuju Ozoh and Dr Davies Adeloye from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, and the UK’s Teesside University are investigating the impact of climate change on respiratory health in South-West Nigeria.
Nigeria’s fast-growing population and increased activities like burning waste, cutting trees, and factory pollution are harming the environment, climate, and people’s health – especially their breathing.
Through population-based household studies, they are collecting data on individual exposure to air pollution, and comparing this to the development of respiratory problems.
Protecting mothers and babies from extreme heat
Dr Adelaide Lusambili and Dr Cherie Part from the Africa International University, Kenya, and the UK’s London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine are studying the effects of extreme heat exposure on mothers and babies in sub-Saharan Africa.
As climate change causes temperatures to rise, millions of women and babies around the world will be exposed to extreme heat. We know this is very dangerous, but we don’t know exactly how heat exposure affects pregnant women, new mothers, and infants. As a result, it is very difficult to design measures to protect them.
This project will gather crucial evidence and develop new ways to protect the health of mothers and their babies, in partnership with their local communities.
Our research addresses the urgent health risks posed by extreme heat, to mothers and babies in rural Kilifi, Kenya. As global temperatures continue to rise, we’re gathering evidence and finding solutions to help vulnerable families and shape policies for climate resilient housing. Dr Cherie Part
Research on climate change and health
Discover more about the recent projects on the health impacts of climate change, funded thanks to £2.7 million in new research funding from the Foundation.
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More impact stories
Take a look at our impact pages for a range of stories about the difference we have made through our funded research.
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Our full impact report
Thanks to you, we’re supporting some of the brightest and best medical researchers in the world to solve neglected health problems.
In our impact report, we showcase some of the life-changing science you’ve made happen.
2025 Impact ReportDonate now and change lives
Your support has led to ground-breaking discoveries and life-changing advances, but there is still more to do. For every researcher we support, there are many more we can’t – not because they lack merit, but because we lack the funds to support them all. You can change that. Your donation today could support research like this, and could fund the next life-changing discovery.
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