Nexa is a global climate × health innovation initiative led by Grand Challenges Canada and the Science for Africa Foundation, together with a global consortium of partners investing in bold, locally led solutions that help health systems anticipate and respond to climate-driven health threats.
The challenge
Nexa is investing in solutions that help local health actors turn climate-risk signals into timely action, reducing health harms from mosquito-borne infections, extreme heat, and poor air quality.
With an estimated 3.6 billion people globally living in a climate-vulnerable region, the climate crisis is creating new health threats and making existing ones worse, putting added pressure on health systems already stretched thin.
As temperatures and rainfall patterns shift, mosquito-borne diseases are spreading into new areas, while extreme heat and poor air quality cause both immediate and long-term harm.
Climate-driven health risks fall hardest on the most vulnerable: pregnant women, children, the elderly, people with chronic illness, and communities with limited healthcare access. Local health systems need solutions to anticipate and respond to these risks.
Community-driven priorities
Health workers, scientists, innovators, policymakers, and humanitarian workers in low- and middle-income countries are at the front lines of the climate crisis. They are best placed to describe the most pressing climate-driven health challenges, and the barriers we must overcome to address them.
In January 2025, Grand Challenges Canada, the Science for Africa Foundation, and the Global Grand Challenges Network partnered with The Geneva Learning Foundation to launch the largest global survey on climate and health to date. Over 6,400 health and humanitarian workers across 107 low- and middle-income countries responded. The insights from that survey, together with the lessons from our early climate and health investments and the insights from an expert panel on climate and health have shaped Nexa’s focus.
Areas of Focus
Nexa was created to support local health actors to prepare and respond to the impact of these climate-related health threats. Drawing on
Changing mosquito ecology
Extreme heat
Poor air quality
We invest in innovations that address one or more of the following areas of focus:
Climate-informed early warning and monitoring systems to help communities prepare and respond to climate-related health threats
- Solutions that help health actors anticipate and respond to the health impacts of extreme heat, poor air quality, and the spread of mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and dengue
- Solutions that integrate weather and climate data with health data to identify risk
- Solutions that support decision-making and early action
Climate-responsive patient care delivery to support those most affected by climate-related health risks
- Solutions that strengthen local response to mosquito-borne diseases, heat-related illness, and air quality-related conditions
- Climate-smart approaches to diagnosis, treatment and continuity of care
- Solutions that help health systems function more effectively under climate stress
Funding Opportunity: Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean
We are investing in bold, innovative solutions across Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean that enable local health actors to turn climate-driven health risk signals into timely health service delivery action, reducing health harms from mosquito-borne infections, extreme heat, and poor air quality.
Applications open June 22, 2026 at 10:00AM ET (2:00PM UTC).
Join a global network of partners
Nexa is co-led by Grand Challenges Canada (in partnership with the Government of Canada) and the Science for Africa Foundation, together with Novo Nordisk Foundation, Sanofi Foundation, Fund for Innovation in Development, and members of the Global Grand Challenges Network in Botswana (Botswana Innovation Fund), Brazil, Malawi (NCST Malawi), Rwanda (NCST Rwanda), Senegal (Institut Pasteur Dakar), and South Africa (South African Medical Research Council).
Let’s work together to strengthen solutions to climate and health challenges. Join our growing consortium of partners, connect with us at: climate@grandchallenges.ca.
