African organisations developing solutions at the intersection of climate change and public health have an opportunity to access up to $2 million in funding through the Nexa: From Climate Risk to Health Resilience initiative.
The programme is co-led by Grand Challenges Canada and the Science for Africa Foundation, with support from partners including the Wellcome Trust, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Sanofi Foundation, the Fund for Innovation in Development, the Global Grand Challenges Network and Arm Limited.
Nexa is designed to support locally led innovations that help communities, health workers and health systems anticipate and respond to climate-related health threats.
The current Transition to Scale funding window offers between $250,000 and $2 million for innovations that already have strong proof-of-concept evidence and are ready for broader implementation.
Applications close on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. UTC.
Focus Areas
Nexa is particularly interested in solutions addressing health risks linked to:
mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue
extreme heat
poor air quality
cardiovascular and respiratory conditions
diabetes and chronic kidney disease
climate-related pregnancy risks, including heat stress and hypertension
Eligible projects must fall under at least one of two areas:
Climate-informed early warning and monitoring systems, or climate-responsive patient care delivery.
The programme is looking for innovations that do more than respond to health problems after they occur. Successful solutions should help health systems use climate-risk information to take earlier and more effective action.
Who Can Apply?
The funding is open to incorporated organisations including:
NGOs
nonprofits
social enterprises
companies
research institutions
academic institutions
For the Transition to Scale track, organisations may be incorporated anywhere in the world, provided the proposed innovation is implemented in an eligible country.
All 54 African countries are eligible.
Nexa also places strong emphasis on community participation. Eligible innovations must have a meaningful local presence and demonstrate that affected communities have been engaged in the design or implementation of the solution.
Why This Matters for Africa
Climate change is increasingly creating new public-health risks while worsening existing ones.
Changing rainfall and temperature patterns can increase the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, while extreme heat and worsening air quality can place additional pressure on already stretched health systems.
The effects are often more severe for vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant women, older people, people living with chronic illnesses and communities with limited access to healthcare.
For African health innovators, NGOs and social enterprises, Nexa provides an opportunity to move climate-health solutions beyond pilot projects and into larger-scale implementation.
The programme also represents a growing shift in impact finance, where grants, debt and equity can be combined to help locally developed solutions move from innovation to scale.
Applications for the Transition to Scale funding must be submitted through the official Fluxx application portal before the deadline.
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