We spoke to Senior consultant, Anne Gander who worked on the project: SAP055 | Strengthening the Health Resilience of Communities Vulnerable to Climate Change in Benin’s ABD (Adjohoun, Bonou and Dangbo) Zone. This project was one of three approved GCF projects the E Co. team worked on at the recent 43rd Meeting of the GCF Board (B.43) in Songdo, South Korea this past October.
1. Anne, what makes this project particularly important for Benin’s climate priorities or vulnerabilities?
The project ‘Strengthening the Health Resilience of Communities Vulnerable to Climate Change in Benin’s Adjohoun, Bonou, and Dangbo (ABD) Zone’ directly addresses the country’s high susceptibility to climate-induced health risks and is aligned with national climate priorities outlined in Benin’s key strategic documents such as the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and the National Adaptation Plan (NAP).
The health sector in Benin’s ABD Zone is particularly vulnerable to changes in disease patterns and disruptions to health services caused by climate change. The country faces a ‘double burden’ where climate change exacerbates both vector-borne diseases (such as malaria) and non-communicable diseases (such as cardiovascular diseases and acute respiratory infections).
Malaria remains the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the ABD zone, accounting for 48.5% of deaths in 2019, with transmission rates strongly correlated to humidity and temperature. The project also addresses the rising incidence of cardiovascular diseases and acute respiratory infections linked to heatwaves which are expected to worsen with climate change. Health centres in this zone currently lack climate-resilient infrastructure. Many face power outages during floods and lack potable water, which hampers the management of climate-sensitive diseases. The project addresses this by installing photovoltaic solar panels and solar water pumping systems to ensure autonomy. During floods, populations are often cut off from health facilities. The project addresses this vulnerability by providing solar-powered motorised boats to facilitate patient transport and medical supply delivery.
The project is designed to operationalise specific goals outlined in Benin’s key strategic documents, ensuring strong country ownership. The project fulfils the NDC’s mandate to ‘train all actors in the medical pyramid on climate change and its effects on health’ and to ’develop an information and surveillance system on the impact of climate change on health’. It also aligns with Option 4 of the NAP, which calls for improving health infrastructure, promoting resilient water supply in health centres, and building human resource capacity in health and climate change.
2. What innovative approach or methodology used in this project highlights our strength as a trusted GCF partner?
We were hired by GIZ to support the Accredited Entity, Benin’s National Environment and Climate Fund (FNEC), to respond to all rounds of comments received from the GCF (and the ITAP) and to revise the project Funding Proposal and Annexes accordingly until the project’s approval by the GCF.
“I believe that the very nature of this assignment highlights our strength as a trusted GCF partner. Comments were always received from the Accredited Entity with a request to provide answers within extremely tight deadlines, and our team demonstrated a strong capacity to quickly take ownership of the project documents, understanding the proposal and the gaps to fulfil and a capacity to develop robust answers to the GCF while systematically improving the project documents in line with the fund’s requirements. All of this was achieved in a highly organised, efficient, and effective manner within very limited timeframes.”
3. How did our consultancy support effective engagement and coordination with the GCF Secretariat throughout the process?
The Accredited Entity had great confidence in our work and felt adequately supported throughout the process. This trust was fostered by our team’s consistent responsiveness, systematic approach, and ability to provide clear and effective support in line with the requirements of the GCF. E Co. was present alongside the Accredited Entity in its calls with the GCF Secretariat, facilitating the interaction between the GCF and the FNEC team. Subsequently, E Co. supported FNEC in systematically incorporating the requests and comments made during these calls into the project documents, ensuring alignment, clarity, and compliance with GCF expectations.
4. How will the project’s impact directly support communities, strengthen national resilience, and contribute to long-term sustainable development?
The project focuses on the Adjohoun-Bonou-Dangbo (ABD) zone, a region characterised by high poverty and severe exposure to floods, heavy rains, and heatwaves. The project is designed to create a ‘paradigm shift’ in Benin’s approach to climate-health challenges by moving from reactive measures to a proactive, resilient system. Its impact is structured to operate simultaneously at the hyper-local level (direct support to the ABD zone) and the systemic level (national resilience and sustainable development).
The project will provide direct support to communities in the ABD zone by securing access to health centres during crises. Solar panels and solar water pumps will be installed in health centres ensuring that even during floods or storms that cut off the national grid, clinics can power essential biomedical equipment, light delivery rooms, and provide potable water, which is currently a major deficit. To address isolation during flooding, the project will provide solar-powered motorised boats. This ensures patients can be evacuated and health products can be delivered when roads are impassable, directly saving lives. Health centres often lack tools to diagnose climate-sensitive conditions. The project will supply essential biomedical equipment (e.g., electrocardiograms, nebulisers) to better manage cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and acute respiratory infections (ARIs), which are exacerbated by heat and dust.
The project also focuses on disease prevention and traditional medicine. The construction of drainage trenches will significantly reduce stagnant water, thereby destroying mosquito breeding sites and lowering malaria transmission. Recognizing the community’s reliance on traditional pharmacopoeia, the project will regenerate botanical gardens with medicinal plants used to treat malaria, CVDs, and ARIs, which are currently disappearing due to drought. The project will also contribute with livelihood strengthening and economic resilience of the communities. The project will turn a climate hazard into an economic asset by channelling stagnant floodwater into retention basins used for market gardening. This creates income for vulnerable groups (particularly women and youth), allowing them to afford healthcare. Local artisans will be trained to build ventilated, climate-resilient housing, creating local jobs and ensuring the community can replicate these safer building models independently.
The project will serve as a pilot to strengthen Benin’s overall capacity to manage the health impacts of climate change. First by operationalising a climate-health Early Warning System (EWS) and secondly by building institutional capacity. Benin currently lacks a local EWS. This project will establish the first community-based EWS integrating health risks (monitoring temperature and humidity to predict disease outbreaks). This system will connect local meteorological data with health centres to issue alerts, allowing proactive preparation for malaria spikes or heat-induced cardiovascular events. This moves the national system from a general weather alert system to a specialized health-risk management tool. Regarding institutional capacity building, it will strengthen the coordination between disparate national bodies, such as Météo-Bénin (weather), the Ministry of Health, and Civil Protection agencies. This will break down institutional silos and creates a unified response framework for climate emergencies. Additionally, health personnel, community relays, and focal points will receive specialized training on the link between climate and health, equipping the national workforce with new competencies to manage climate-induced emergencies.
Finally, the project is designed to offer benefits that outlast its implementation period, aligning with Benin’s long-term development goals. The project aligns with the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 3 (Health), by reducing the prevalence of climate-sensitive diseases; SDG 6 (Water), by providing resilient water supply systems to health centres and SDG 13 (Climate Action), by building community resilience against climate change.
