COMMENTARY
Public Health Rev.
Strengthening Uganda's Climate-Resilient Health Systems.
Seed Global Health, Boston, United States
Article metrics
37
Views
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract
Climate change is already impacting health outcomes in Uganda. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, floods, and droughts have increased the incidence of climate-sensitive diseases such as malaria, cholera, and respiratory infections.¹ Nearly half of Uganda's health facilities are located in areas prone to floods or droughts, with over 70% experiencing interruptions in service delivery during climate-related disasters.² The combined effects of environmental degradation, food insecurity, and forced migration compound the burden on an already fragile health system. These challenges underscore the urgent need for integrating climate adaptation into health sector policies, workforce development, and financing structures.Uganda's approach to integrating climate change into health policy also reflects a growing dimension of public health diplomacy aligning national adaptation priorities with global climate and health commitments through negotiation, policy alignment, and cross-sector partnerships. Uganda's transition toward a climate-resilient health system depends on bridging the gap between policy commitments and implementation. Operationalizing HNAP and integrating health into the NDC 3.0 process present unique opportunities to align national adaptation goals with health system strengthening. ¹⁰ Building resilience in the health sector is both a climate and diplomatic imperative, linking Uganda's domestic health priorities with international frameworks and cooperation under global climate governance. ¹¹, ¹²
Summary
Keywords
Climate -resilient health systems, health systems strengthening, public health diplomacy, Domestic health financing, and climate change adaptation
Received
19 November 2025
Accepted
22 January 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Zikanga. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Bernard Jackson Zikanga
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.