Improving Health Professionals' Capacity to Respond to the Climate Crisis in Africa: Outcomes of the Africa Climate and Health Responder Course

Danielly de Paiva Magalhães^1*Cecilia Sorensen^1,2Nicola Hamacher¹Haley Campbell¹Hannah N. W. Weinstein¹Patrick Opiyo Owili³Alex Riolexus Ario^4,5Glory Mbe Egom Nja^6,7Charles Akataobi Michael⁸Yewande Alimi⁸Hervé Hien⁴Woldekidan Kifle Amde^6,9Sokhna Thiam¹⁰Vincent Pagiwa¹¹Shawn M. D’Andrea¹²Caroline M. Gichuki¹³Marian Offei⁶Joanes Atela¹⁴Sean Mark Patrick^14,6Bruce Struminger^15,16Margaret Kaseje⁶

• ¹Global Consortium of Climate Change and Health Education, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States
• ²Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States
• ³African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Nairobi, Kenya
• ⁴International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI), Africa Network, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• ⁵Uganda National Institute of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda
• ⁶Association of Schools of Public Health in Africa (ASPHA)​, Nairobi, Kenya
• ⁷School of Allied Health Sciences, Kampala International University, Ishaka, Uganda
• ⁸Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• ⁹School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape​, Cape Town, South Africa
• ¹⁰West Africa Regional Office, African Population and Health Research Center, Dakar, Senegal
• ¹¹Okavango Research Institute, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
• ¹²Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
• ¹³Institute for Human Development, Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya
• ¹⁴School of Health Systems and Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
• ¹⁵Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
• ¹⁶ECHO Institute, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

The fragile health systems in Africa worsen climate-related health impacts, making capacity building essential to strengthen adaptation and resilience. The Africa Climate and Health Responders Course was developed to address the urgent need for climate and health education among African health professionals. Organized by the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE) in collaboration with ASPHA, Africa CDC, WHO AFRO, Project ECHO, and other regional partners, the course aimed to enhance awareness, communication skills, and preparedness in responding to climate-related health challenges. Delivered online via Zoom with over 11 sessions (September 17-October 22, 2024), the course featured expert lectures, case studies, and live discussions. Simultaneous interpretation in English, French, and Portuguese ensured broad accessibility. Participants who attended at least 70% of live sessions and passed the final exam received a certificate. A longitudinal survey was applied to understand the course impact. The course attracted 7,572 registrants, with 89% from Africa. While 3,500 participants attended at least one session, only 1,657 participated (1,607 from Africa) attended 70% or more of the sessions and completed the final survey. Participants held positions in government (31%), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) (27%), academia (24%), private sector (11%), and others (7%). Their main professional backgrounds were public health (33.2%), medicine (16.3%), and environmental health (13.2%). The majority of participants (66%, n=1100) had never received prior training in climate and health; among them, 36% (n=392) were students and 64% (n=708) were not students. The course significantly improved participants' self-reported confidence and perceived preparedness, with increases in: climate-health awareness (+22%); confidence in risk communication (+40%); preparedness for adaptation and resilience (+36-37%), and professional responsibility in climate-health action (+21%). These findings highlight not only the feasibility and effectiveness of virtual training in this context, but also the opportunity for scaling such initiatives to build a climate-resilient health workforce across Africa. . Skilled professionals are key to fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration, integrating climate-health education, and engaging communities -efforts that require sustained investment in capacity building to institutionalize competencies and strengthen public health systems and policies over the long term.