In the first half of 2025, extreme weather events inflicted more than $100 billion worth of damages in the United States. Similar storylines spanned the globe, as wildfires swept across eastern Europe and East Asia and torrential rain poured into Argentina and Democratic Republic of Congo. Mere weeks ago, a supersized Hurricane Melissa wreaked havoc in Jamaica.
Such was the backdrop for the thirtieth Conference of the Parties (COP30), which began Monday in Belém, Brazil. TGH devotes this edition to a trio of deep dives into climate and health.
Poor sanitation, a core topic on COP30’s second day, is linked to 800,000 annual deaths worldwide. Climate-induced disasters can destroy sewage infrastructure and increase the risk of diseases, as physician and researcher Rômullo José Costa Ataídes describes this week for Think Global Health. He emphasizes how countries should use COP30 as an opportunity to incorporate resilience to water, sanitation, and hygiene into their national climate adaptation plans.
Next, the COP30 conversation heads to Kyrgyzstan, where the mountainous geography predisposes the country to weather emergencies. Yet there are signs of hope. Samuel S. Han, Saule Chalbasova, and Christopher J. Gerry from the University of Central Asia detail how Kyrgyzstan is progressing on climate and health as the country faces recurrent floods, avalanches, and infectious disease outbreaks. They argue that to sustain that momentum after the country lost 78% of its U.S. aid, COP30 leaders need to secure dedicated finance for mountain-region resilience.
Researchers Sushree Nibedita Panda and Manish Barik then review evidence showing how leaders of island nations remain sidelined from climate decision-making. They offer six steps governments can take to promote inclusive leadership at and beyond COP30.
To cap the week, TGH swings back to the United States, where enhanced premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act are due to expire at the end of the year. Journalist Ron Shinkman outlines how catastrophic health insurance plans—which the Trump administration expanded to mediate the rising costs of evaporating subsidies—come with caveats that potential enrollees need to know.
Then, TGH Research Associate Alejandra Martinez interviews Joseph L. Graves Jr., a biology professor at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, about his new book, Why Black People Die Sooner: What Medicine Gets Wrong About Race and How to Fix It. They discuss how medical myths and structural racism in medicine have increased the burden of hypertension on African Americans.
Until next week!—Nsikan Akpan, Managing Editor, and Caroline Kantis, Associate Editor
