AVPN and Bayer Foundation launch $5 M Climate x Health: Lighthouse for Asia fund

AVPN, the largest network of social investors in Asia, today launched the “Climate x Health: Lighthouse for Asia” Fund, supported by the Bayer Foundation.

Announced at the Singapore Pavilion session at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, the $5 million fund aims to empower non-profit organisations leveraging climate innovations to create scalable solutions that protect the health of vulnerable communities from the impacts of climate change.

The inaugural Fund will provide selected organisations with up to $200,000 to address the severe impacts of climate change on health, especially on vulnerable communities in the region. AVPN will pool philanthropic capital and deploy it through grants and non-grant instruments suited to develop, scale, and co-invest in smart climate solutions, in areas such as food security solutions, infectious disease management, water and sanitation services, and climate-health intelligence systems. These focus areas were chosen for their immense impact on vulnerable communities and the potential for tech solutions to mitigate them.

For example, AVPN believes that food security solutions ensure access to nutritious food during climate disruptions, while climate-health intelligence, such as monitoring and early-warning systems, helps anticipate and reduce health risks from extreme weather events that disproportionately affect vulnerable communities. All applicants, including non-grantees, will also receive capacity-building support, such as actionable guidance and networking opportunities within AVPN’s ecosystem of over 600 members which includes climate-health investors, innovators, and policymakers.

Climate adaptation funding is still nascent in Asia, with the Lighthouse Fund being one of the first climate-health focused funds in the region. To ensure funds are used effectively and deliver measurable impacts on climate and health, the “Climate x Health: Lighthouse for Asia” Fund will adopt a data-driven management approach to analyse market needs and social issues, before allocating resources to high-impact organisations. AVPN will also work to conduct impact assessments that incorporate both quantitative and qualitative data, measuring outputs, outcomes, and grantee feedback.