Technological solutions must be scaled up to reach those who need them the most. Imagine how many lives could be saved if, for example, NASA’s latest AI model for the prediction of extreme weather was available in remote parts of the Global South.

More importantly, we must empower women. This means funding climate education, which the UN champions as a way to make women and girls “agents of change” to usher in a new era of sustainable living. Companies such as Unilever, Mars and Nestle have been funding such programs for decades, recognising them as an important investment in their supply chains.

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The global advocacy Women Deliver is funding grassroots projects that empower local groups and young leaders to take charge of sexual health, reproductive rights and climate justice. The Muslim World League’s coming conference in Pakistan will convene thousands of scholars and politicians, including the prime minister of Pakistan, to launch a new charter on girls’ education in Muslim communities across the Global South. This initiative will be spearheaded by the league’s secretary-general, Mohammad Al-Issa, who has argued women – and their right to education – are key to tackling the climate crisis in the Muslim world.

As COP29 proceeds, the stakes for women’s health could not be higher. Already Donald Trump’s election in the US has sent shockwaves through the summit: governments, businesses and civil society organisations have cut their delegations or skipped the UN summit altogether.

But we cannot be deterred. Delegates at COP29 must recognise that protecting mothers and children is not a side issue. It’s the heartbeat of humanity’s future.

Nathalie Beasnael is the founder of Health4Peace, which provides medical supplies to hospitals in Chad, Senegal, Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria. She is the diplomatic envoy for the Republic of Chad to the US and was a delegate at COP28.

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