Health and linkages to Climate Change and Environment

Health is one of the seven priorities for the Swedish Government and Sida, where sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and health system strengthening (HSS) are priorities. Investments in health are critical to achieving the ustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to fulfilling the global commitments of Agenda 2030. The world’s global health has improved tremendously in the last century, but progress has stagnated and even regressed in recent years. Armed conflicts and climate change are important factors for these setbacks. Inequalities between women and men are linked to many challenges within global health, such as SRHR, but inequities between and within countries are also pushing progress further away from the SDGs. In 2025, Sida disbursed approximately SEK 1.9 billion on health, including SRHR, which represents almost 8.4 per cent of Sida’s total development support. This calculation does not include research around health, nor humanitarian support.

Sustainable use and management of the earth’s resources is a prerequisite for reduced poverty and sustainable societies – for current and for future generations. In 43 per cent of Sida’s support in 2025, efforts to combat the effects of climate change and improving the environment were a significant part in initiatives in different sectors and thematic areas.1 This included efforts to avoid and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to strengthen resilience to climate change, improve environmental sustainability, restore and sustainably manage natural resources and biodiversity, retain carbon sinks, halt desertification and support disaster risk reduction.