Disparities in health and climate change research funding: The funders and the funded

Climate change has significant impacts on health. This study examines global funding for health and climate change research.

The Dimensions database was used to identify funding awarded between 1990 and 2023 through lower and upper search strategies designed to encompass both focused and more inclusive search approaches.

A total of 1,819 grants were identified in the lower search and 3,326 in the upper search, with total funding ranging from USD1.6-2.6 billion, the majority awarded since 2010. Most grants were issued by government (88-90 %) and non-profit (10-11 %) organisations, primarily from the United States (37 %) and the United Kingdom (15 %). Most funding went to educational research organisations (75 %) in high-income countries (78 %) and in the same country as the funder. No funding went to primary research organisations in low-income countries, and fewer than 1 % went to lower-middle income countries.

While funding for health and climate change research has increased, inequities persist in the global allocation of this research funding. More support is needed for research in low- and lower-middle-income countries to equitably address the health crisis posed by climate change.