Bridging national priorities and Global Climate Finance to designing investable Development Programmes
Africa’s development ambitions are well defined, with governments prioritizing climate resilience, sustainable development, health, food security, and economic transformation. The key challenge is transposing these priorities into programmes that attract the necessary financing to achieve results.
The solution is to design programmes that are simultaneously impactful and investable.
Resource mobilization often begins only after a programme is developed. Instead, financing considerations should be integrated from the outset. The most effective programmes align national priorities with the interests of climate funds, development partners, private investors, and philanthropic organizations.
From needs to opportunities
Obtaining funding requires not only identifying needs but also understanding opportunities.
This includes mapping funding sources, analyzing donor priorities, identifying new financing mechanisms, and building partnerships to unlock funds and expertise.
Countries that successfully access climate finance do so by clearly linking national priorities with available funding opportunities. This is largely applicable to SIDS and countries in the Sahel area.
One example is the alliance between governments, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which has mobilized significant investments for climate adaptation and resilience across Africa.
Climate change is also a health challenge
Climate change is no longer solely an environmental issue; it is increasingly a public health challenge.
Recognizing this reality, the WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO) has elevated climate and health as a strategic priority, supporting countries in building climate-resilient and sustainable health systems through vulnerability assessments, adaptation planning, policy support, and access to climate financing.
WHO AFRO has also supported countries through initiatives such as the COP26 Health Programme and the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH), helping governments integrate health matters in climate action and strengthen their readiness to access climate finance.
A recent example is the climate-resilient health initiative supporting eight Southern African countries to strengthen disease surveillance, early warning systems, laboratory capacity, and emergency preparedness in the face of increasing climate-related health threats.
Why Partnerships Matter
No single institution can address climate and development challenges alone.
Successful programmes today are built through partnerships that unite governments, development agencies, civil society, foundations, academia, and the private sector.
The Great Green Wall Initiative illustrates this approach. By uniting multiple partners around a collective vision, it has mobilized political, technical, and financial support to address land degradation, climate change, and livelihoods across the Sahel.
Similarly, WHO AFRO’s broadening partnerships with climate, meteorological, financing, and research institutions show how cross-sector collaboration can strengthen resilience on the one hand and improve development outcomes on the other. For example, partnerships that integrate climate intelligence, health data, and early warning systems are enabling countries to more effectively anticipate and respond to climate-sensitive diseases.
Aligning finance with national strategies
Donors and investors increasingly seek programmes consistent with national development plans, climate commitments, and sector strategies.
Such coordination builds confidence, strengthens ownership, and increases the likelihood of long-term support.
Successful resource mobilization is not about pursuing every funding opportunity, but about positioning national priorities to attract the right partners and investments.
Viewing ahead
As countries develop the next generation of strategies, it is important to move beyond a project-by-project approach.
Opportunity mapping, partnership development, and resource mobilization should be integrated from the beginning.
Ultimately, success isn’t measured by the amount of financing acquired, but by the ability to connect national ambitions with global opportunities and transform investments into long-term impact for communities.
Institutions that will thrive are those that turn priorities into partnerships, partnerships into investments, and investments into sustainable results.