HSDF Climate Action Desk Charter

Purpose of the Charter 

This Charter sets out the Health Strategy & Delivery Foundation’s (HSDF) institutional commitment to strategic climate action through the HSDF Climate Action Desk. It frames climate change as a profound threat to human development, public health, economic stability, and the dignity of vulnerable populations, and defines the purpose, scope, strategic priorities, governance arrangements, and accountability mechanisms that will guide HSDF’s climate-informed work across programmes and operations.

Background and Rationale

Climate change is not just an environmental issue. It is reshaping life across the planet and is already affecting population health, health service delivery, food and water security, livelihoods, economic resilience, and ecological stability. Across Africa, climate extremes are reversing development gains and compounding fragilities in governance, health systems, food security, and livelihoods. In Nigeria, increasing exposure to extreme heat, erratic rainfall, floods, desertification, poor air quality, and climate-sensitive diseases threatens the building blocks of health and development. HSDF therefore recognizes climate change as a health, development, equity, and systems issue that requires coordinated, evidence-informed, and multi-sectoral action.

Scope

This Charter applies to HSDF’s internal operations, programme design, technical assistance, policy engagement, partnerships, research, knowledge dissemination, and resource mobilization activities related to climate action. It provides the mandate for the HSDF Climate Action Desk as the central coordinating mechanism for aligning HSDF’s climate work with national and global climate goals while protecting vulnerable populations and safeguarding development progress.

Vision and Mission Alignment

Vision: HSDF will be a leading thought partner and trusted adviser advancing Africa’s climate action agenda by strengthening climate-resilient, low-carbon, and equity-centered health and development systems.

Mission alignment: This Charter supports HSDF’s mission to improve health and social sector outcomes through better evidence, accountability, and action by embedding climate considerations into programmes and operations, strengthening internal capacity, promoting environmentally responsible practices, and providing thought leadership on the climate-health and development nexus.

Guiding Principles

HSDF’s climate-action efforts are rooted in our broader ethos: strong systems, evidence-informed action, partnership, and sustainable impact. The HSDF Climate Action Desk and all related programme efforts will be guided by the following principles:

• Climate justice and equity: prioritizing populations and places that face the greatest climate-related health risks.
• Evidence-informed action: grounding decisions in data, research, and practical learning.
• Sustainability: promoting environmentally responsible operations and programming.
• Country ownership: aligning support with national and subnational priorities.
• Multi-sector collaboration: working across health, environment, finance, agriculture, energy, and related sectors.
• Accountability: tracking progress transparently and using results to improve performance.

 

1. Climate Justice and Equity

This principle recognizes that the populations least responsible for global emissions, such as marginalized communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, often face the greatest health risks from climate change. This will be achieved by conducting localized vulnerability and adaptation (V&A) assessments that prioritize the needs of underserved groups, including women, children, and persons living with disabilities.

1. Evidence-Informed Action

HSDF ensures that all programming and policy recommendations are grounded in rigorous research, real-time surveillance data, and global best practices. This will be achieved by establishing formal data-sharing partnerships with meteorological agencies and academic institutions to integrate climate-sensitive indicators into existing health dashboards.

1. Sustainability

Institutional and programmatic operations must contribute to environmental stewardship rather than exacerbating ecological degradation. This will be achieved by mainstreaming green procurement protocols and energy-efficient practices across all HSDF offices and field projects to minimize the organization's carbon footprint.

1. Country Ownership

For interventions to be sustainable and scalable, they must align with the sovereign priorities and national strategies of the countries in which HSDF operates. This will be achieved by embedding climate-health technical assistance within national frameworks.

1. Multi-Sectoral Collaboration

Effective action on the climate-health nexus requires a "One Health" approach that bridges the gap between diverse sectors including environment, finance, energy, and agriculture. This will be achieved by convening multi-disciplinary technical working groups that coordinate policy development and implementation across government ministries and private entities.

1. Accountability

Transparent reporting and the use of clear performance metrics are essential for ensuring that institutional commitments translate into tangible impact. This will be achieved by implementing a robust Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) framework that provides regular progress reports to internal leadership and external donors.

Strategic Priorities

HSDF will pursue the following strategic priorities through the HSDF Climate Action Desk, ensuring that climate adaptation and mitigation are integrated into intervention design, programming, operations, knowledge generation, and policy engagement:

1. Climate-resilient health systems: Strengthen infrastructure, service continuity, and preparedness for extreme weather and climate-related shocks.

HSDF will support climate-smart facility standards, resilient water and energy systems, and risk-informed planning that protects essential services during heat, floods, and other hazards.

• Output indicators: Number of new programmes screened for climate risk; number of programmes with documented adaptation measures.
• Outcome indicators: Percentage of new programmes screened for climate risk; number of supported facilities, LGAs, and programme sites implementing climate-resilient service-continuity plans.
• Disaggregation: Facility, LGA, programme site, and, where feasible, priority hazard such as heat, flooding, water disruption, or other climate-related shocks.

1. Low-carbon and environmentally sustainable health systems: Reduce the environmental footprint of health operations while improving service quality.

HSDF will promote renewable energy, sustainable procurement, cleaner supply chains, and improved waste management across relevant programmes and operations.

• Output indicators: Completion of an operational environmental footprint baseline; implementation of green procurement and waste-reduction practices across HSDF offices and relevant project operations.
• Outcome indicators: Percentage of procurement meeting green procurement standards; percentage of waste recycled; percentage reduction in single-use plastics against the established baseline.
• Disaggregation: Office, project operation, procurement category, waste stream, and reporting period.

1. Climate-smart health financing: Align financing strategies with adaptation and resilience priorities.

HSDF will support climate budget tagging, investment case development, and access to appropriate financing mechanisms for climate and health priorities.

• Output indicators: Number of proposals developed with climate budget tagging; number of investment cases incorporating climate-health considerations.
• Outcome indicators: Amount of climate finance leveraged from baseline; percentage of programme budgets screened for climate relevance.
• Disaggregation: Sector, domain, funding source, proposal type, investment case, and programme portfolio.

1. Research, data, and analytics: Generate and use evidence to inform policy, planning, and programme delivery.

HSDF will strengthen climate-health intelligence, integrated surveillance, early warning systems, operational research, and evidence translation for decision-makers.

• Output indicators: Number of analytical products, dashboards, learning briefs, or evidence products generated; number of data or knowledge partnerships established.
• Outcome indicators: Number of policy decisions informed by HSDF evidence; number of citations or downloads of HSDF evidence products; number of ministries, departments, and agencies using generated evidence.
• Disaggregation: Evidence product type, decision-maker category, ministry, department or agency, geographic level, and reporting period.

1. Community and social resilience: Strengthen local capacity to prevent, prepare for, and respond to climate-related health risks.

HSDF will promote community engagement, risk communication, frontline workforce capacity, and locally led adaptation approaches that protect vulnerable populations.

• Output indicators: Number of frontline workers, community actors, or programme staff trained; number of communities or implementation sites supported to develop or update adaptation, preparedness, or response plans.
• Outcome indicators: Percentage of trained participants demonstrating improved competency; percentage of communities implementing adaptation plans; number of climate-related community alerts disseminated.
• Disaggregation: Participant type, community, implementation site, hazard type, alert type, and reporting period.

1. Policy engagement and advocacy: Elevate health within climate policy and investment decisions at national, regional, and global levels.

HSDF will provide policy support, promote alignment with national adaptation and health strategies, and advocate for stronger climate-health commitments and investments.

• Output indicators: Number of policy engagement plans developed; number of technical inputs provided to national, subnational, regional, or partner climate-health policy, planning, or investment processes; number of policy dialogue or advocacy events convened or co-convened.
• Outcome indicators: Number of HSDF recommendations adopted; number of policies influenced; number of climate-health priorities incorporated into government plans.
• Disaggregation: Policy process, level of government, partner type, recommendation type, and reporting period.

Governance and Accountability

The HSDF Climate Action Desk will serve as the central coordinating mechanism for implementation of this Charter. It will coordinate climate action across HSDF, provide technical guidance to programme teams, support integration across portfolios, align work with national and global climate goals, and track progress through agreed indicators and periodic leadership review. Senior leadership will provide oversight, approve strategic direction, and review performance periodically. Programme teams and designated focal points will be responsible for applying this Charter within their respective areas of work.

• Oversight: Senior leadership will oversee implementation and review progress.
• Coordination: The HSDF Climate Action Desk will guide standards, tools, technical support, knowledge dissemination, and cross-portfolio integration.
• Implementation: Departments and programme teams will integrate climate considerations into planning and delivery.
• Accountability: Progress will be tracked through agreed indicators, reporting cycles, and management review.

Governance and accountability indicators will include quarterly coordination meetings held, annual implementation report produced, and percentage of programmes receiving technical support from the HSDF Climate Action Desk. These indicators will help track whether the coordination mechanism is functioning effectively and whether programme teams are receiving the support required to implement this Charter.

Monitoring and Review

HSDF will monitor implementation through a fit-for-purpose results framework with indicators aligned to the Charter’s strategic priorities, governance arrangements, and the immediate actions of the HSDF Climate Action Desk. The framework will define a baseline year for each indicator, establish annual reporting cycles, assign indicator ownership to the Climate Action Desk, programme teams, operations teams, or other responsible units, and specify data sources, disaggregation requirements, and reporting responsibilities. Progress will be consolidated annually through an implementation report and reviewed by leadership to assess performance, identify bottlenecks, and agree corrective actions. HSDF will also conduct periodic learning reviews to reflect on evidence, programme experience, stakeholder feedback, and changes in the operating context, ensuring that the Charter remains relevant, practical, and focused on measurable outputs and outcomes.

Organizational Commitment

HSDF commits to reducing its organizational carbon footprint, embedding climate considerations into programmes and operations, strengthening staff capacity in carbon accounting and climate-smart health, agriculture, and enterprise programming, promoting environmentally responsible practices, and providing thought leadership in advancing Africa’s climate action agenda. This Charter affirms HSDF’s intention to lead by example while supporting partners to deliver measurable, equitable, and sustainable health and development outcomes.

Approval and Effective Date

This Charter takes effect upon approval by HSDF leadership and remains in force until revised or replaced. The effective date, approval authority, and review schedule should be recorded in line with HSDF’s internal governance processes.

HSDF will implement this Charter through a hub-and-spoke model in which the HSDF Climate Action Desk provides central technical support and programme teams integrate climate considerations into design, delivery, and learning. Implementation will include internal capacity building, routine carbon footprint assessment, climate-responsive programme design, greener travel, office greening, waste reduction, strategic partnerships, publications, convenings, and the use of practical tools and standards to guide action.