Executive Summary
This study offers insights into Kenya’s national climate and health policy ecosystem driving climate action among policy makers and other stakeholders. In particular, the research documents the current state of integration of climate and health policy, the ideal relationship between climate and health policy, barriers for such integration, and opportunities and strategies for integrating and advancing climate and health policy. It showcases perspectives of various participants ranging from policy makers in the climate change and health sector, research scientists in both sectors, climate and health practitioners, legal experts, academia and members of civil society.
Status of national and health policy
Climate and health are critical sectors which the government of Kenya has accorded considerable attention due to the impacts that these two have on the population and overall national development. The current approach to addressing the health impacts of climate change is guided by a framework of policies and institutional arrangements that have evolved over the years in response to the growing recognition of climate change as a significant threat to public health. In addition, there have been attempts to integrate climate change into health programs. Areas where health and climate have been linked include vector borne diseases and climate change, drought, floods and health impacts, air pollution and respiratory health, food insecurity and malnutrition. However, as shall be shown later in this report, the two sectors operate independently from each with regards to policy formulation, planning and budgeting, typical of the country’s policy making process and governance. There is also little research evidence to inform the two-policy domains.
Ideals for climate and health policy
Most respondents observed that climate and health should be integrated to address both the climate and health issues jointly. They noted a few areas critical for integration such as emerging diseases, food and nutrition, mental health, promoting green building under the affordable housing and employment, health and clean cooking stoves, climate litigation and judicial training, and enterprises that work in the health sector e.g. climate proofed refrigeration for vaccines. It is through such integration that financial resources can be efficiently utilized in joint programming initiatives that benefit both sectors.
Barriers to integrating climate and health policy
Research respondents identified a number of barriers to climate change and health integration including; health sector being viewed as a casualty rather than an adopter of climate policies; limited interaction and linkages in the nexus because of the siloed approach in which policies are designed and implemented at the national level with each sector focusing on their mandates; prominence in awareness creation and funding is directed towards climate change activities compared to health. This was attributed to the fact that climate change has a causal effect on health and not vice versa; experts in both fields project a linear understanding of the nexus from their own discipline with limited interactions between the two disciplines. For example, those working on health observed how they would focus on specific areas of curative, promotive and preventive approaches to health matters in relation to climate change and not thinking through models that integrate the two such as One Health or Planetary Health approaches, hence contributing to limited coherence of the two sector-policies. Other barriers include limited funding, lack of coordination in the Ministries in charge of climate change and health, weak institutionalization of innovative ideas characterized by a lack of clear succession plans of experts working in this area, ambiguity on where to domicile the climate and health agenda, and a lack of political goodwill.
Opportunities to advance the climate change and health policy
Despite these enumerated barriers, this study highlights numerous opportunities that could strengthen and integration of policies and policymaking in climate-health nexus. These include optimal integration of climate change and health through ministerial programs, cross-sector collaborations, research, education, capacity building, increased advocacy and awareness creation, and adoption of holistic approaches such as One Health model.
Strategies to advance the climate change and health policy
Participants enumerated several climate-health policy integration strategies such as the creation of climate and health policy advocacy groups to publicize climate and health policy; lobbying for increased funding to climate and health, and incorporation of health issues in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC); health aspects can also be incorporated in climate change mitigation and adaptation programs that have a local and wider national reach such as the Financing Locally Led Climate Action Program (FLoCCA). In the policy domain, participants suggested the need for launching of the Kenya Climate Change and Health Strategy. This strategy will enable the health sector to integrate climate issues in Kenya’s health strategic plan. More activities to implement such plans and strategies will trigger research actions such as conducting health assessments for all climate-related projects and policies, similar to the requirements of current environmental assessments for evidence base policy making. It was observed that institutional arrangements are a catalyst to integration particularly if coordination of climate actions and health activities is clearly marked and responsibilities assigned to designated offices. It was also noted that the country needs to anchor climate change into a central higher office and not confine it to a specific Ministry even though a few activities are now being handled at the presidency office through the climate special envoy. The country’s medium-term plans of vision 2030 must also explicitly address cross-cutting issues in the two sectors, as budgets typically follow these plans. Stakeholders can also leverage existing adaptation finance frameworks and other climate funding mechanisms to develop comprehensive climate and health financing proposals. A robust awareness and capacity-building foundation will also be essential to foster a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between climate change and health. Finally, a few respondents suggested the need for a constant review of health and climate change policies, an exercise that would help identify potential synergies.
Implications
The study concludes that there is emerging evidence of joint policy making with climate change policies addressing health aspects, whilst policies in the health sector are also considering climate change issues. The study presents implications of these findings for policy, research and advocacy across the health and climate sector. sharing best practices, coordinating efforts and developing intersecting policy demands. Developing tailored messaging that considers the views and interests of policy-makers while holding them accountable and utilizing multidisciplinary evidence, is key for effective advocacy work. Networks, alliances, and advocacy organizations can utilize political windows of opportunity, such as elections, to influence political party positions on climate and health issues. Strategic communication campaigns can help build bridges between different population groups, the media and policy-makers. Advocates can play a key role in pushing for a more systematic integration of climate and health considerations into the national policy agenda, challenging vested interests and moving beyond isolated efforts to contribute to a more unified and cohesive policy framework.
Authors
Richard Mulwa, Elvin Nyukuri, Kenneth Kigundu, Elly Musembi
Citation
Mulwa, R., Nyukuri, E., Kigundu, K., and Musembi, E. (2024). Advancing climate and health policies in Kenya; insights from national policy stakeholders. University of Nairobi, Kenya. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/XNCAV
Funding Sources
We thank Wellcome Trust for funding this research.