New Initiative Explores Innovative Financing Solutions for Co-Management of Ecosystems and Public Health in Africa

A groundbreaking new pan-African Ecosystems, Finance and Health initiative (EFH), being developed through a collaboration between scientists, finance experts and local stakeholders, will address the critical question of how improvements in the environment and health are financed in 21st-century African landscapes. 

Co-organized by James Hassell, an epidemiologist with the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s (NZCBI) Global Health Program and Yale School of Public Health, EFH convened leading African and international experts from science, finance, government and NGO backgrounds for a workshop that explored novel financing mechanisms to preemptively manage the health consequences of climate change and biodiversity loss.  

“A significant proportion of human and animal diseases are mediated by environmental factors, particularly in African contexts where climate hazards intersect with social, economic and food system challenges,” Hassell said. “Proactive management is not only economically advantageous but essential for sustainable public health outcomes.” 

The workshop, co-organized by Joseph Kamau of the Institute of Primate Research, Kenyan Ministry of Health, immersed participants in the model of community conservation and landscape management exemplified by the Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy, which is managed jointly by local communities and the Sarara Foundation. 

Key discussion points included: 

• The current financing landscape of public health in Africa
• The attractiveness of joint financing for health systems, food production and ecosystem management for financing organizations, and the financial instruments that could be used to achieve this
• The development of a conceptual model linking health, environmental sustainability and financial returns
• Data gaps and unknowns to direct resources toward co-financing public health and ecosystem management 

The four-day meeting was defined by the group’s interactions with their hosts—semi-nomadic pastoralists of the local Samburu community. Climate change presents urgent challenges for rural communities like these across the world, but they have unique insights and knowledge about how to address these challenges. With the help of the Samburu, and guided by the community’s own resilience-building strategies, participants mapped out interventions that could improve health by jointly targeting ecosystems, food production and health care across different African landscapes, and the beneficiaries of these solutions. 

EFH aims to foster a community of practice dedicated to making co-management of ecosystems, food systems and public health systems financeable. A one-year road map toward this initiative, including identifying a five-year strategic plan and core funding, garnered unanimous support from participants.  

“It is time to unlock the flow of patient private capital towards bankable projects in Africa that promote the conservation of nature, preserve human health, and are community-focused,” said Mary Njuguna, the principal specialist of capital markets at FSD Africa, a Kenya-headquartered development finance nonprofit. “The blending of various financing tools is critical to achieving this, and it requires a bold, collaborative approach, which EFH represents.” 

Pauline Lenguris, a member of Kenya’s parliament, the woman’s representative for Samburu and member of the Kenyan government’s Parliamentary Committee on Health, addressed attendees and highlighted the health challenges her constituents face. She also stressed the importance of empowering communities, particularly women, as custodians of the environment.  

EFH’s inception was made possible by the Sarara Foundation, NZCBI’s Global Health Program, Smithsonian’s Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Research, Science for Africa Foundation, University of Liverpool’s Pandemic Institute, University of Milan, Yale Africa Initiative, Yale Planetary Solutions and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The initiative traces its origins over more than a decade’s worth of collaboration on health and biodiversity conservation between the NZCBI’s Global Health Program and peer institutions in Africa. 

About the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) leads the Smithsonian’s global effort to save species, better understand ecosystems and train future generations of conservationists. Its two campuses are home to some of the world’s most critically endangered species. Always free of charge, the Zoo’s 163-acre park in the heart of Washington, D.C., features 2,200 animals representing 400 species and is a popular destination for children and families. At the Conservation Biology Institute’s 3,200-acre campus in Virginia, breeding and veterinary research on 264 animals representing 20 species provide critical data for the management of animals in human care and valuable insights for conservation of wild populations. NZCBI’s more than 300 staff and scientists work in Washington, D.C., Virginia and with partners at field sites across the United States and in more than 30 countries to save wildlife, collaborate with communities and conserve native habitats. NZCBI is a long-standing accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. 

About FSD Africa

FSD Africa is a specialist development agency funded through UK Development operating in more than 30 countries working to help make finance work for Africa’s future. Based in Nairobi, FSD Africa’s team of financial sector experts work alongside governments, business leaders, regulators and policymakers to achieve policy and regulatory reform, capacity strengthening and improving financial infrastructure, to address systemic challenges in Africa’s financial markets. Since 2017, the organization’s strategy has evolved to prioritize solutions to Africa’s most critical challenges: economic, social and environmental. The organization has worked to promote investment into the continent’s green economy, as well as its rates of financial inclusion and gender equality. FSD Africa, previously known as Financial Sector Deepening Africa, was founded in 2012 and is based in Nairobi, Kenya. For more information, visit http://www.fsdafrica.org.

About The Sarara Foundation

The Sarara Foundation works in partnership with Northern Kenyaʼs Samburu to help preserve biodiversity and see this Indigenous community flourish and thrive. It thinks deeply about the health of the planet, and all its endeavors reflect a shared passion to preserve the natural world. Engaging sincerely with the community to preserve this rare and remote wilderness—as well as the cultural independence and rich history of its people—the foundation facilitates economic strength through smart planning and local leadership. While forging lasting pathways with and for the Samburu, a future that breaks traditional cycles of poverty is being shaped and formed. Together, the foundation’s long-term objective is to develop a blueprint for community-led conservation and foster lasting and cost-effective solutions for the planet’s health and conservation worldwide.

About Kenya Institute of Primate Research

The Kenya Institute of Primate Research (KIPRE), formerly known as the Institute of Primate Research situated at the heart of Oloolua forest, is a 68-year–old, government-owned biomedical research facility under the State Department of Public Health and Professional Standards in the Ministry of Health. KIPRE specializes in pre-clinical and biomedical research using laboratory animal models, particularly non-human primates and is the only facility of its kind in the country and the larger East and Central African region. The institute has five departments and two centers. The One Health Centre, the co-lead of the EFH initiative, hosts the COVID-19 Testing and Research and Molecular Biology Lab. Additionally, the center leads the global health, zoonotic diseases research, diagnostic laboratory and climate change-related initiatives. The institute has a field station where it conducts cutting-edge research, education and community outreach in a variety of interdisciplinary programs including biodiversity, conservation and one health. 

About Science for Africa Foundation

The Science for Africa (SFA) Foundation is a pan-African, non-profit and public charity organization that supports, strengthens and promotes science and innovation in Africa. The SFA Foundation serves the African research ecosystem by funding excellent ideas in research and innovation, enabling interdisciplinary collaborations and building and reinforcing environments that are conducive for scientists to thrive and produce quality research that generates new, locally relevant knowledge. For more information, visit https://scienceforafrica.foundation/.

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