The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) will attend a meeting on 13 November led by Brazil’s Minister of Health, Alexandre Padilha, focused on the Belém Health Action Plan, an international framework for climate and health adaptation policies introduced by Brazil.
This marks the first time health adaptation for climate change is at the forefront of the climate summit agenda.
‘The climate crisis is a global health crisis,’ said Dr Sergio Sosa-Estani, DNDi’s Regional Director for Latin America. ‘For many climate-sensitive neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), our health systems lack the tools to diagnose, treat, and protect those most at risk. We urgently need medical innovation. DNDi scientists are already working on this by developing treatments for climate-sensitive NTDs such as dengue, leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness, Chagas, and other NTDs, which will be essential for helping health systems and vulnerable populations adapt to climate change.’
DNDi is a global not-for-profit research and development organization dedicated to discovering and developing new treatments for neglected diseases, many of which are vector-borne and likely to be worsened by climate change.
‘Climate change is no longer a distant threat. It is intensifying outbreaks of vector-borne neglected diseases in endemic regions and causing expansion to new parts of the world,’ added Sosa-Estani. ‘Decades of progress towards the control and elimination of these deadly and debilitating diseases are now in jeopardy.’
In 2024, for example, Brazil faced an unprecedented dengue outbreak. More than 6.5 million people were affected, resulting in 6,297 deaths according to data from the Ministry of Health. Rio Grande do Sul experienced its first dengue outbreak in 2024 due to severe flooding in the state, with reported cases jumping from under 40,000 in 2023 to more than 200,000 in 2024.
‘Neglected populations are disproportionately affected by climate change and bear the brunt of this crisis,’ said Sosa-Estani. ‘One answer for climate justice in this area is inclusive medical innovation, with endemic countries in the lead and communities at the centre. We not only need to invest in the discovery and development of health tools – medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics to respond to climate-sensitive diseases – but also need to ensure these tools are accessible for the people who need them most. This is crucial to strengthening our health systems’ resilience to deal with the impacts of climate change.’
About DNDi
The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a not-for-profit medical research organization that discovers, develops, and delivers safe, effective, and affordable treatments for neglected populations. DNDi is developing medicines for sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, river blindness, lymphatic filariasis, female genital schistosomiasis, mycetoma, dengue, paediatric HIV, cryptococcal meningitis, and hepatitis C. Its research priorities include children’s health; gender equity and gender-responsive R&D; and diseases impacted by climate change. Since its creation in 2003, DNDi has collaborated with public and private partners worldwide to deliver thirteen new treatments for six deadly diseases, saving millions of lives. dndi.org
Media contact
Vania Alves
valves@dndi.org
Photo credit: Fábio Nascimento-DNDi
