Shaping the future: Our strategy for research and innovation in humanitarian response.
Shaping the future: Our strategy for research and innovation in humanitarian response.
Climate change is one of the greatest threats to lives and livelihoods globally. Environmental destruction, extreme weather events, natural disasters and food and water scarcity are just some of the effects being felt by populations around the world, but for those living in humanitarian contexts, the impacts can be even greater.
At last year’s COP meeting, the closing Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery and Peace cited concerns that global efforts to build climate resilience remain insufficiently tailored to the needs and challenges of people, communities and countries affected by crises – recognising that these are the populations on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
Our recent situation analysis likewise noted that while there is a growing body of evidence on climate change and health, only a fraction of that is relevant to humanitarian populations. Moreover, humanitarian actors appear absent in the ever-growing climate research-policy space, meaning evidence gaps and research needs specific to the sector also go unaddressed.
In November, we will be hosting a webinar, with the Fogarty International Centre, to further explore opportunities and challenges related to health research at the intersection of humanitarian crises and climate change. The webinar serves as primer for our May 2025 Research Forum where we will be exploring the theme of ‘Bridging Global Health Research and Humanitarian Response in a Climate-Impacted World’.
As we look towards these two upcoming events, we’ve gathered insights from our partners who are already supporting local communities to find solutions for addressing the effects of climate change.
One of the panellists speaking at our upcoming webinar is Dr Junaid Razzak, Director of the Centre of Excellence for Trauma and Emergencies at the Aga Khan University and a Professor of Emergency Medicine and Population Health at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr Razzak and his team have developed and tested interventions to reduce the impacts of extreme heat in urban Pakistan.
The team have since launched an initiative for raising public awareness and developing strategic measures to mitigate the impact of heatwaves in partnership with Pakistan’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority, including a video highlighting key messages for community awareness.
What does your work tell us about the key actions that need to be taken to lessen the impact of the climate crisis on public health?
Community members and policy makers are listening. They want to know what exactly they need to do and can do in their context. We need to improve and simplify the guidance we give to people on the street, to policy makers and to healthcare providers. Community Health Workers can be great source of behaviour change to mitigate climate’s health impact, while more clear diagnostic criteria and diagnostic tools need to be available to emergency clinicians.
How can those working in public health at community level contribute to the global debate on climate change?
I think we need to move from studies showing the impact to focus on solutions – solutions that are evidence based, for which research funding and research expertise would be required. Those working in public health at community level sometimes see climate change as a competing problem, taking resources away from what their teams are working on. If they see it as a cross-cutting theme in everything being done at the community, sort of the new ‘social determinants of health’, it will make thinking about, talking about it and finding solutions much easier.
Are there any other ideas or reflections you would like to share?
Heat is a problem which we all feel but we can’t measure its impact on human health. It’s because we don’t have definitions and tools to measure the climate related disorders. Centers of Excellence (for research and education) based in high-risk, low-capacity settings will help these countries leapfrog and not follow the model of knowledge development of the past century which delayed development of contextual, contemporary solutions.
Our situation analysis highlights that without the insight of people affected by crises, it is impossible to fill existing knowledge gaps and find solutions to alleviate the worsening effects of climate change on those most impacted. Research and policy agendas should aim to better understand adaptive measure taken by those vulnerable populations who bear the brunt of the climate crisis.
We know that climate research is a fast-moving area, with an ever-increasing mix of individual advocates, groups and organisations joining the conversation, however in the research-policy space, humanitarian stakeholders go underrepresented, with local and indigenous populations particularly absent from the existing evidence.
Jessica Novia is Program Manager for YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU), an NGO based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. A fellow member of the Community-Led Innovation Partnership, YEU supports local innovators to find new solutions for delivering inclusive emergency response in their communities.
What can the humanitarian sector learn from community-level responses and initiatives when aiming to lessen the impacts of the climate crisis on public health?
Humanitarian interventions should align climate action with local priorities and existing resources to address the impacts of climate change. From our work with women’s groups in urban areas of Yogyakarta, the majority of the community prioritizes meeting basic needs such as water, food, and income, making it challenging to link climate action directly to daily survival. However, when climate actions are tied to pressing urban issues, these initiatives become more relevant and sustainable.
Communities have highlighted health challenges such as respiratory issues, high blood pressure, and joint inflammation. While these are not directly linked to climate change, they are often worsened by it. This suggests that health interventions in humanitarian work should look beyond traditional climate-related diseases and consider broader health impacts. Similarly, strengthening community mental health support and promoting gender-responsive strategies through training and capacity strengthening activities at the community level, along with organizing women’s groups, is essential for more effective disaster response.
The humanitarian sector can learn from bottom-up approaches by incorporating community wisdom and ensuring that interventions are grounded in local practices. Climate action through grassroots innovations demonstrates the power of collective action. These initiatives not only address climate impacts but also improve public health and nutrition. Empowering local women’s groups to identify risks and lead solutions has proven effective, indicating that humanitarian actors should promote community-led, inclusive resilience building.
In your view, how can the humanitarian sector better involve itself in conversations about climate change? And what does it stand to gain from this involvement?
Climate adaptation and mitigation align closely with disaster management principles, with disaster risk reduction aiming to reduce risks and climate change mitigation aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To put it briefly, it is important to integrate a climate change lens into humanitarian and response planning by ensuring the inclusion of risk assessments, early warning systems, and disaster preparedness.
With the increasing funding and grants dedicated to climate mitigation activities, it’s important to note that developing countries’ adaptation needs are estimated to be 10-18 times greater than current funding levels. This gap highlights the importance of involving the humanitarian sector, as it already has experience managing risks that overlap with climate impacts.
To succeed, climate actions must be collective, as the problem is just too vast and complex to be addressed. Thus, better collaboration with local communities and local stakeholders should be fostered to ensure long-term sustainability and ownership.
Are there any other ideas or reflections you would like to share?
The climate crisis is highly complex, with risk drivers closely linked to development challenges such as health, and the correlation between mental health and climate impacts is influenced by many factors. Addressing the climate crisis requires a cross-cutting approach that considers gender perspectives, social and economic factors, culture, and social inclusion.
Innovations developed by communities have a high potential for sustainability because they are more cost-effective and foster a strong sense of ownership. Stakeholders should prioritize a bottom-up approach to climate action, ensuring that interventions are more targeted, relevant, and impactful.
This Q&A has been edited for length, but you can read Jessica and the YEU team’s full responses to our questions below this article.
Like many other organisations, we are still just beginning our journey into climate change and it’s impacts on humanitarian response and populations affected by crisis. We want to work with actors at global, regional, national and local levels, to support research and innovation that builds resilience in the face of climate risks, but we have to do this with intention.
Our journey is continuing with our upcoming webinar, and our May 2025 Research Forum and we look forward to sharing more as we articulate our way forward in climate research and innovation.
For more insights on the intersection between research, climate change and public health, register for our upcoming webinar and read the recommendations from our situation analysis.
Learn more about our long-term commitment to environmental responsibility.
Based on our experience, several strengths of local group initiatives that can provide valuable lessons for the humanitarian sector:
From our work with women’s groups in urban areas of Yogyakarta, the majority of the community prioritizes meeting basic needs such as water, food, and income, making it challenging to link climate action directly to daily survival. However, when climate actions are tied to pressing urban issues—such as waste management to prevent flooding or using aquaponics to ensure food security by managing limited space of land, which also helps them save on food expenses by harvesting from their aquaponics—these initiatives become more relevant and sustainable. Humanitarian interventions should, therefore, align climate action with local priorities and existing resources to address the impacts of climate change.
Based on focus group discussions (FGDs) and interviews conducted in five villages in the Yogyakarta Special Region involving 230 respondents, communities have highlighted health challenges such as respiratory issues, high blood pressure, and joint inflammation. While these are not directly linked to climate change, they are often worsened by it. This suggests that health interventions in humanitarian work should look beyond traditional climate-related diseases and consider broader health impacts. Another critical issue is mental health and social pressure—the climate crisis exacerbates mental health problems, particularly for women who face rising living costs, debt, and increased responsibilities. Strengthening community mental health support and promoting gender-responsive strategies through training and capacity strengthening activities at the community level, along with organizing women’s groups, is essential for more effective disaster response. For instance, riverbank communities often have trouble sleeping during heavy rains due to fear of flooding. One urban river innovator group has addressed this by strengthening their volunteer system and installing a flood Early Warning System (EWS) as the initiative that they are doing. With this system in place, residents now feel safer and can sleep more soundly knowing there is a team of volunteers on watch.
Climate action through grassroots innovations—such as kitchen gardens, waste banks, and community aquaponics projects—demonstrates the power of collective action. These initiatives not only address climate impacts but also improve public health and nutrition. Empowering local women’s groups to identify risks and lead solutions has proven effective, indicating that humanitarian actors should promote community-led, inclusive resilience building. Solutions like waste management and aquaponics underscore the value of local knowledge in addressing climate challenges. One of our innovators, a group of local youth, has developed an initiative to plant endemic trees in their hamlet, which is prone to landslides and drought. Through this initiative, they have revitalized abandoned land, strengthened soil structure, increased groundwater retention, and introduced nature-based solutions to enhance natural processes while at the same time providing both environmental and social benefits. The humanitarian sector can learn from these bottom-up approaches by incorporating community wisdom and ensuring that interventions are grounded in local practices.
In the Indonesian context, communities have modalities of social capital and often leverage through women’s groups, youth, volunteers, and health cadres to distribute resources, close information gaps, and ensure aid reaches those most in need. In some of the villages we work with, local policies allow communities to recommend priority recipients for aid. Although data collection can sometimes be a challenge and aid may not always reach the right individuals, the local spirit of cooperation (gotong royong) helps bridge these gaps.
One of the most impactful lessons is the flexibility in funding, which allows communities to decide how resources are allocated, as seen with the Community Resilience Funds (CRF) and programs such as Community-Led Innovation Partnership (CLIP). Flexible funding, when managed accountability by community groups, can effectively address the specific needs of disaster-prone areas. The sense of ownership within the community also drives the sustainability and responsibility for fund management, ensuring it continues to rotate, with community members contributing to its replenishment. Humanitarian agencies can adopt these flexible, community-driven approaches to better respond to diverse needs.
To better engage in conversations about climate change, the humanitarian sector should recognize that climate change, while often a slow-onset issue, can lead to disasters like flooding caused by plastic waste accumulation in drainage systems, landslides which are increasingly occurring due to soil degradation, which is exacerbated by climate change, and other climate-related hazards. Climate adaptation and mitigation align closely with disaster management principles, with disaster risk reduction aiming to reduce risks and climate change mitigation aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To put it briefly, it is important to integrate climate change lens into humanitarian and response planning by ensuring the inclusion of risk assessments, early warning systems, and disaster preparedness
With the increasing funding and grants dedicated to climate mitigation activities, it’s important to note that developing countries’ adaptation needs are estimated to be 10-18 times greater than current funding levels. This gap highlights the importance of involving the humanitarian sector, as it already has experience managing risks that overlap with climate impacts.
Most countries have submitted their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), which outline their adaptation needs. While frameworks for adaptation and mitigation are in place, addressing Loss and Damage (climate-induced loss beyond the scope of adaptation) remains underdeveloped. The humanitarian sector can leverage its understanding of national policies, identify key actors and stakeholders, and build networks for collaboration. It can also contribute to national-level discussions by providing informed recommendations.
Moreover, the humanitarian sector can reduce its own emissions by improving resource management, such as minimizing waste in shelters (e.g., excess clothing donations) that can become health hazards and require costly disposal. Proper waste management, especially in emergency shelters, is crucial, as is addressing climate change’s impact on reproductive health, which disproportionately affects women. By engaging more deeply in climate discussions, the sector not only strengthens its own response capacity but also helps mitigate future risks linked to climate change.
To succeed, climate actions must be collective, as the problem is just too vast and complex to be addressed. Thus, better collaboration with local communities and local stakeholders should be fostered to ensure long-term sustainability and ownership.
The climate crisis is highly complex, with risk drivers closely linked to development challenges such as health, and the correlation between mental health and climate impacts is influenced by many factors. Addressing the climate crisis requires a cross-cutting approach that considers gender perspectives, social and economic factors, culture, and social inclusion.
Local climate solutions, such as sustainable farming practices, water conservation techniques, or community-led adaptive agriculture, should be highlighted as case studies during global events. Sharing success stories through international platforms and global campaigns can demonstrate the effectiveness of locally-driven approaches and inspire broader adoption.
Innovations developed by communities have a high potential for sustainability because they are more cost-effective and foster a strong sense of ownership. Stakeholders should prioritize a bottom-up approach to climate action, ensuring that interventions are more targeted, relevant, and impactful.
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