Climate change is an environmental issue that is deeply entwined with human health. In East Africa, climate change poses pressing threats to human health, especially among rural, low–income, and marginalized communities. Policy action across mitigation, adaptation, and systems reform is essential to protect populations, especially vulnerable groups. In this regard, governments and regional bodies are increasingly incorporating health into climate policy and at the core are national adaptation plans (NAPs), which include and health-national adaptation processes integrating health sector considerations into climate planning. 

The East African Community (EAC) has adopted a Climate Change Policy Framework that mandates collective adaptation and mitigation actions, with a focus on protecting vulnerable populations and enhancing resilience to climate shocks, particularly in food security and environmental health. While at national levels, the region has seen major developments for instance, Uganda’s Health National Adaptation Plan (2025-2030), commits to making health infrastructure climate-resilient (e.g. using solar refrigeration, climate-smart building standards), and aligning sector budgets to account for climate risks and Kenya’s National Adaptation Plan (2015-2030), which commits to integrating climate-sensitive health risks into planning across sectors especially water, agriculture, infrastructure, and disaster risk management and ensuring adaptation is mainstreamed into development goals.

On the advocacy front, countries across the region are pushing policy reforms around nutrition and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that recognize the linkage between climate change, diet, air quality, and public health. Regional cooperation is also growing as has been since through IGAD and the East, Central & Southern Africa Health Community joint consultative meetings which aim to build country and regional-level technical assistance plans for climate and health, including health emergency preparedness and resilience.

Looking ahead, East Africa has significant opportunities to:

• Mobilize adaptation financing targeted at health, unlocking resources for local innovation.
• Build cross-border capacity, ensuring regional institutions serve as hubs for technical support.
• Champion equity and gender inclusion, embedding community voices in climate-health policies.

Leverage early warning systems to strengthen preparedness for disease outbreaks and extreme weather events.