Health at the heart of national adaptation planning: a global review of national adaptation plans and health national adaptation plans

Overview

To effectively address these growing health challenges posed by climate change, health considerations must be systematically integrated into broader national climate adaptation strategies.

The process to formulate and implement national adaptation plans (NAPs) — established as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) processes — is a key opportunity to integrate health into national climate change planning. Ministries of health are therefore encouraged to develop a standalone health-specific component, the health national adaptation plan (HNAP), while ensuring integration of health within the overall NAP. The NAP process — including the health component — is a critical mechanism for health adaptation planning.