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

Introduction: Climate change has significant impacts on health. This study examines global funding for health and climate change research. Materials: 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. Results: 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. Conclusion: 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.