Deadline: 22-Jul-2026
The Nexa Climate and Health Innovation Funding Opportunity supports climate-centred health innovations that help local health actors prepare for and respond to climate-driven health risks. Transition to Scale investments range from approximately USD 250,000 to USD 2,000,000 per innovation for funding periods of up to 24 months.
Overview
The funding opportunity supports innovations that improve health system preparedness, response, and service delivery in vulnerable communities affected by climate change.
It focuses on solutions that turn climate-related health risk information into timely action. These solutions should help local health actors address risks linked to extreme heat, poor air quality, mosquito-borne diseases, and climate-sensitive health conditions.
Key Details
- Opportunity: Nexa Climate and Health Innovation Funding
- Funding stage: Transition to Scale
- Funding range: USD 250,000–2,000,000
- Funding period: Up to 24 months
- Funding type: Mostly grants; debt or equity may be considered
- Eligible applicants: Legally incorporated organizations or equivalent entities
- Main focus: Climate-driven health risks and climate-responsive health systems
Focus Areas
The opportunity supports two main innovation areas.
1. Climate-Informed Early Warning and Monitoring Systems
This area supports solutions that help health actors anticipate and respond to climate-related health risks.
Supported innovations may include:
- Heat-health early warning systems
- Air quality monitoring tools
- Mosquito ecology surveillance
- Malaria and dengue risk forecasting
- Integration of weather, climate, and health data
- Digital health surveillance tools
- AI-enabled health risk prediction
- Systems that support health service delivery decisions
2. Climate-Responsive Patient Care Delivery
This area supports innovations that improve health services for people affected by climate-sensitive conditions.
Supported solutions may include:
- Tools for mosquito-borne infection response
- Heat-related illness care models
- Air pollution-related health interventions
- Triage and diagnosis tools
- Treatment support systems
- Continuity-of-care models
- Patient care tools for chronic diseases
- Climate-smart healthcare delivery in lower-resourced settings
- Solutions designed for extreme weather conditions
Key Concepts Explained
What are Climate-Driven Health Risks?
Climate-driven health risks are health threats caused or worsened by climate change. These include extreme heat, poor air quality, changing mosquito-borne disease patterns, malaria, dengue, respiratory illness, and disruption of routine healthcare.
What is Transition to Scale?
Transition to Scale is a funding stage for innovations that already have evidence of feasibility, effectiveness, and early impact. It helps innovators expand, validate, and strengthen their solutions for broader use.
What is Climate-Informed Health Data?
Climate-informed health data combines weather, climate, environmental, and health information to forecast risks and guide public health action.
What is Climate-Responsive Patient Care?
Climate-responsive patient care means delivering health services that can adapt to climate hazards such as heatwaves, disease outbreaks, poor air quality events, and extreme weather.
What is Climate-Smart Health Innovation?
Climate-smart health innovation refers to tools, models, or systems designed to work under climate stress, especially in lower-resourced settings and during extreme weather conditions.
Who is Eligible?
Eligible applicants include legally incorporated organizations or equivalent entities.
Eligible organization types include:
- Companies
- Social enterprises
- Non-governmental organizations
- Governmental organizations
- Non-profit organizations
- For-profit organizations
- Research institutions
- Academic institutions
Who is Not Eligible?
The following applicants are not eligible:
- Individuals
- Sole proprietorships
- Unincorporated trusts
- Partnerships
- United Nations agencies
- United Nations country offices
Applicant Requirements
Eligible organizations must:
- Be legally established
- Be active and in good standing
- Be the intended funding recipient
- Be able to enter into funding agreements with Nexa partners
- Demonstrate technical capacity
- Have internal approvals to manage funding
- Have regulatory approvals where required
- Show ability to implement activities in the proposed technical area
Transition to Scale Requirements
Transition to Scale applicants must already have evidence that their innovation works.
Applicants should demonstrate:
- Feasibility
- Effectiveness
- Early signs of impact
- Relevance to priority health outcomes
- Potential to scale
- Clear climate-health connection
- Capacity to strengthen evidence through evaluation
During the Transition to Scale phase, innovators may receive support to improve evaluation approaches and validate health impacts in the context of climate hazards.
Funding Amount and Structure
Transition to Scale investments range approximately from USD 250,000 to USD 2,000,000 per innovation.
Funding amounts depend on:
- Innovation maturity
- Organization type
- Development stage
- Sustainability plan
- Discretion of Nexa partners
Most investments are expected to be grants.
Debt or equity may also be considered depending on the organization and project structure.
Funding may be provided by one or more Nexa partners.
Priority Health Risks
The opportunity focuses on health impacts influenced by climate change, including:
- Malaria
- Dengue
- Heat-related illness
- Poor air quality events
- Respiratory health impacts
- Climate-sensitive chronic diseases
- Healthcare disruption during extreme weather
Priority Populations
Solutions should consider vulnerable communities and populations such as:
- Children
- Elderly populations
- Pregnant women
- People with chronic diseases
- Underserved communities
- Lower-resourced communities
- Populations exposed to extreme weather conditions
How to Apply
Step 1: Confirm Organizational Eligibility
Make sure your organization is legally incorporated or equivalent and is active, registered, and in good standing.
Step 2: Confirm Innovation Stage
Ensure your innovation has evidence of feasibility, effectiveness, and early impact.
Step 3: Define the Climate-Health Problem
Clearly explain the climate-driven health risk your innovation addresses.
Step 4: Show How Climate Change Is Central
Demonstrate how climate change directly shapes the solution’s design, functionality, and implementation.
Step 5: Choose the Relevant Focus Area
Position the innovation under early warning and monitoring, climate-responsive patient care, or both.
Step 6: Present Evidence of Impact
Include existing evidence showing how the innovation has improved or can improve health outcomes.
Step 7: Prepare the Scale Plan
Explain how the innovation will expand, strengthen, or validate impact during the funding period.
Step 8: Develop Budget and Timeline
Prepare a budget between USD 250,000 and USD 2,000,000 and a project period of up to 24 months.
Step 9: Demonstrate Implementation Capacity
Show that your organization has the technical, operational, financial, and regulatory capacity to deliver the project.
Step 10: Submit the Application
Submit the application according to Nexa partner requirements.
Why It Matters
Climate change is increasing health risks and placing pressure on already stretched health systems.
This opportunity matters because it supports innovations that:
- Help health actors act before climate risks become crises.
- Improve preparedness for heat, air pollution, malaria, and dengue.
- Strengthen patient care in climate-stressed settings.
- Protect vulnerable populations.
- Improve data-driven health surveillance.
- Support continuity of care during extreme weather.
- Build climate-resilient health systems.
- Validate scalable solutions through stronger evidence.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applicants should avoid:
- Applying as an individual or sole proprietorship
- Submitting an innovation without existing evidence
- Proposing a solution where climate change is only indirectly relevant
- Failing to show how AI, digital tools, or data improve health outcomes
- Ignoring vulnerable populations
- Providing weak evaluation plans
- Requesting funding outside the stated range
- Proposing a project longer than 24 months
- Failing to show legal registration or good standing
- Overlooking internal or regulatory approval requirements
Tips for a Strong Application
Applicants should:
- Clearly define the climate hazard and health outcome.
- Show how the innovation converts climate information into action.
- Provide evidence of feasibility and early impact.
- Explain how local health actors will use the solution.
- Include a strong evaluation plan.
- Demonstrate relevance to vulnerable communities.
- Show how the solution works in lower-resourced or extreme weather settings.
- Present a realistic sustainability plan.
- Align budget and timeline with the scale-up plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Nexa Climate and Health Innovation Funding Opportunity?
It is a funding opportunity supporting innovations that help local health actors address climate-driven health risks and improve health service preparedness, response, and delivery.
How much funding is available for Transition to Scale?
Transition to Scale investments range from approximately USD 250,000 to USD 2,000,000 per innovation.
How long can funded projects run?
Initial funding periods may last up to 24 months. Shorter project durations are also accepted.
Who can apply?
Legally incorporated organizations or equivalent entities may apply, including companies, NGOs, nonprofits, for-profits, governmental organizations, and research or academic institutions.
Who is not eligible?
Individuals, sole proprietorships, unincorporated trusts, partnerships, United Nations agencies, and UN country offices are not eligible.
What types of innovations are prioritized?
Prioritized innovations include early warning systems, monitoring tools, AI-enabled forecasting, digital health solutions, climate-responsive care delivery models, triage tools, and solutions addressing heat, air pollution, malaria, dengue, and climate-sensitive conditions.
What evidence is required for Transition to Scale?
Applicants must show existing evidence of feasibility, effectiveness, and early signs of impact on priority health outcomes.
Conclusion
The Nexa Climate and Health Innovation Funding Opportunity supports scalable climate-health solutions that help local health actors turn climate risk information into timely health action. With Transition to Scale funding of USD 250,000 to USD 2,000,000 for up to 24 months, the programme supports innovations that strengthen preparedness, patient care, surveillance, and resilience in communities facing climate-driven health risks.
For more information, visit Grand Challenges Canada.