Asia's health landscape significantly shaped by philanthropic efforts - Nations bolstered to become self-sufficient in healthcare.
In the face of global pressures on traditional paths to development, philanthropies in Asia are shifting their focus towards self-reliance and community empowerment. This transformative vision was on display at the Philanthropy Asia Summit 2025, where health and government leaders discussed the importance of new forms of partnerships.
The Climate & Health Funders' Coalition, fronted by philanthropic organizations Wellcome Trust and the Rockefeller Foundation, shared insights on the impact of heat risks on health systems. The Rockefeller Foundation, for instance, is working with India's largest union of informal workers to address challenges like the country's housing crisis, improve agricultural yields, and help workers protect their livelihoods under extreme heat.
One of the key strategies being implemented is the Health for Human Potential (HHP) Community, an initiative launched by the Gates Foundation, along with other private foundations and non-profits. This community aims to mobilize over US$100 million in funding for projects that will improve health outcomes for people in the region by 2030. The HHP Community will initially focus on Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam - Southeast Asia's most populous countries - where important gains in healthcare have been made but further collaboration and investment are needed.
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a distinguished patron of the Philanthropy Asia Alliance, highlighted food and nutrition challenges as an opportunity for Asia-led philanthropy to work on. He noted that many food-producing countries have been plagued by consistently declining and stagnating crop productivity due to problems like land degradation and water scarcity. Organizations like the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory are working on decarbonizing rice farming and improving rice yields with the support of philanthropic organizations such as the Gates Foundation and the Philanthropy Asia Alliance.
Philanthropies are also prioritizing nature-based and community-driven solutions, especially in climate-related health risks. They support projects like traditional seed banks and locally-adapted irrigation to improve food security and nutrition resilience. This approach moves away from traditional top-down aid to community empowerment and systemic change.
Moreover, philanthropic collaboration with governments is formalized through partnerships emphasizing a shift from aid to empowerment-oriented models. This reflects a larger agenda to build self-reliant societies by co-creating solutions that governments and markets can scale.
Deepali Khanna, head of Asia at The Rockefeller Foundation, stated that extreme heat is not just a health crisis, but an economic and political one. She called for philanthropies to come together to back bold solutions and take big bets to help get the solutions in the hands of people who need them. Dr Alan Dangour, director of climate and health at Wellcome Trust, emphasized the need for evidence-based research on heat's impact on pregnant women, young infants, and mental health.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), spoke at the summit and urged governments to move away from dependency on aid to self-reliance. The WHO is supporting developing countries in sustaining health services, but Ghebreyesus called for a rethink of the type of support that could help governments navigate challenges in the long term.
The Asia Pacific region has seen significant gains in health and human development in the past decades. However, challenges remain, particularly in areas like heat risks and food and nutrition security. Through their transformative approach, philanthropies in Asia are working to address these challenges and foster sustainable self-reliance, rather than perpetual aid dependency.
- The Climate & Health Funders' Coalition, comprising of philanthropic organizations like Wellcome Trust and the Rockefeller Foundation, emphasized the impact of heat risks on health systems.
- Corporate responsibility and environmental science intersect in the Rockefeller Foundation's work with India's informal workers, addressing housing, agricultural challenges, and extreme heat risks.
- The Health for Human Potential (HHP) Community, a collaborative effort between philanthropic organizations and non-profits, aims to improve health outcomes in Asia by 2030 with a focus on Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
- Food and nutrition challenges, highlighted by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, present an opportunity for Asia-led philanthropy to address declining and stagnating crop productivity issues.
- Organizations like the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, with support from philanthropies like the Gates Foundation and the Philanthropy Asia Alliance, work on decarbonizing rice farming and improving rice yields.
- Philanthropies prioritize nature-based and community-driven solutions, focusing on traditional seed banks, locally-adapted irrigation, and improving food security and nutrition resilience.
- Philanthropic collaboration with governments is formalized through partnerships that aim to shift from aid to empowerment-oriented models, building self-reliant societies and co-creating scalable solutions.
- Dr Alan Dangour, director of climate and health at Wellcome Trust, called for evidence-based research on heat's impact on pregnant women, young infants, and mental health.
- Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), urged governments to transition from aid dependency to self-reliance in the face of ongoing health and human development challenges in the Asia Pacific region.
