Background
Extreme heat is the most pervasive and lethal climate threat to human health — driving excess mortality, eroding labor productivity, and disproportionately harming vulnerable populations. As heat extremes accelerate, public health systems designed to respond after crises occur are increasingly unfit for purpose.
Meanwhile, the global health ecosystem is under strain: development assistance is declining and geopolitical uncertainty is reshaping multilateral cooperation. Protecting people from heat cannot rely on emergency response alone. Health systems must shift toward anticipatory, climate-informed models that predict risk and prevent harm before crises unfold.
Since 2024, the Rockefeller Foundation and partners have built a growing portfolio around this Climate-Informed Health Action (CLIHA) approach — spanning early-warning systems, anticipatory governance, and community-level implementation. The Global Partners Summit on Heat-Health Action will convene this community to synthesize learning, align on a shared narrative for impact, and define how successful models can be scaled and sustained.
Summit Objectives
- 1Share strategies, implementation experiences, learnings, and evidence-based solutions that deliver people-centered impact.
- 2Develop a shared ambition for impact and scale, grounded in common messaging and aligned definitions of success.
- 3Assess and interrogate opportunities to scale impact, including through evidence generation, institutionalization, financing pathways, and cross-sectoral integration.
Agenda (Subject to change)
The agenda below provides a high-level overview of the convening. More detailed session descriptions will be added next week.
| Time | Session | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Morning/Afternoon | Arrivals | Shuttle transfers from Mumbai International Airport (BOM) to Athiva Resort throughout the day. |
| 14:00 – 18:00 | Cohort Snapshot & Burning Questions | Get a sense of who is in the room and the key questions shaping the heat-health landscape. |
| 18:30 – 19:00 | Objects from Where We Work | Storytelling through personal objects to build connection and ground discussions in lived realities. |
| 19:00 – 19:30 | Opening & Call to Collective Action | Framing the urgency of heat and health, and the purpose of the convening. |
| 19:30 onwards | Dinner | — |
| Time | Session | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:30 | The Honest Start | Small group conversations to surface beliefs and tensions around scaling impact. |
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Setting the Context | Aligning on the global heat-health challenge and goals of the convening. |
| 10:00 – 11:45 | Evidence & Insights from the Field | Lightning talks and deep dives sharing key learnings from across the portfolio. |
| 11:45 – 12:00 | Tea Break | — |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Learning Pods | Thematic groups synthesize learnings, identify gaps, and surface opportunities. |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Lunch | — |
| 14:00 – 15:00 | Cross-Pod Sharing | Collective sense-making of key insights and patterns. |
| 15:00 – 16:30 | Mapping What Blocks Scale | Interactive simulations to explore real-world barriers across systems and stakeholders. |
| 18:30 onwards | Cultural Programming & Dinner | — |
| Time | Session | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Glimpses of Tomorrow | A futures-oriented icebreaker to shift into a possibility mindset. |
| 09:30 – 09:45 | The Probable Cinema | A short film reflecting on current trajectories and what's at stake. |
| 09:45 – 10:45 | Pathways to Scale | Exploring the building blocks of scale. |
| 10:45 – 11:00 | Tea Break | — |
| 11:00 – 13:00 | The Futures Lab | Collaborative exploration of preferable futures for heat-health systems. |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Lunch | — |
| 14:00 – 15:30 | Gallery of Possible Futures | Showcase of imagined futures and shared reflections across groups. |
| 15:30 – 17:30 | Optional Local Excursion | — |
| 19:30 onwards | Dinner | — |
| Time | Session | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Reflections from the Field | Grounding insights from the local excursion. |
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Portfolio Synthesis | Key learnings and strategic signals from the convening. |
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Narrative & Messaging Strategy Session | Shaping narratives and messaging for diverse audiences. |
| 11:00 – 11:15 | Tea Break | — |
| 11:15 – 13:00 | Narrative Shaping | Developing a shared narrative for scaling heat-health impact. |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Lunch | — |
| 14:00 – 16:00 | Build a Collective Charter | Aligning on priorities and collaboration pathways. |
| 16:00 – 16:30 | What We Carry Forward | Closing reflections and next steps. |
| 19:30 onwards | Closing Dinner & Performance | — |
| Time | Session | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Departures | Shuttle transfers to Mumbai International Airport (BOM) throughout the morning. |
Participant List
Pre-Read Materials
Before the Summit
Tell Us About You
To help us get to know the group better and design a more meaningful experience, please fill out a short Google Form. The form captures basic details about your organisation and role, and your work related to heat and health.
It will take only 2–3 minutes to complete.
Complete the short participant form — it only takes 2–3 minutes.
Fill Out the Form →Bring an Object
We invite you to bring along a small object from your work context that reflects your experience with heat and health. This could represent: the communities you work with, a challenge you encounter, or a moment that has stayed with you.
The object should be small enough to fit in your luggage. Examples: a field notebook used during heatwave visits, a water bottle distributed in a campaign, or a simple item like a scarf or tool that reflects working conditions in extreme heat.
Share Your Work
If you have knowledge products or materials related to heat and health that you would like to share, send them to us before March 30 for dissemination to other participants through this website. This could include: reports, briefs, or toolkits; communication materials or campaigns; data visualizations or dashboards; or prototypes, frameworks, and design outputs.
For example: a heat action plan, a behavior change campaign, a community toolkit, or a short report capturing key learnings from your work.
Partner Spotlights
Knowledge products and materials shared by our summit partners will be featured here.
Tufts University - Academic Alliance for Anticipatory Action
Tufts University - Academic Alliance for Anticipatory Action
National Treasury Republic of South Africa, The World Bank Group
The World Bank Group
WHO
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Logistics
📅 Convening Dates
- March 30: Arrival day — no formal program until evening
- March 31 – April 2: Full convening days
- April 3: Departure day
Please plan to arrive in Mumbai on March 30 and depart on April 3.
🚐 Airport Transfers
RF will provide shared shuttle transportation between Mumbai International Airport (BOM) and Athiva Resort.
- Arrival (March 30): Shuttles run on a rolling basis throughout the day.
- Departure (April 3): Shuttles run from Athiva Resort back to the airport.
Participants will receive direct email communication from ICE India during the week of March 23 with specific instructions on pick up and drop off.
✈️ Flight Booking
For participants offered travel support, economy flights will be coordinated by RF's travel agency, ADTRAV. Once your participation is confirmed, you'll receive a Participant Agreement to sign, after which RF will connect you with ADTRAV.
Please do not book independently unless instructed to do so.
ADTRAV | 1-800-476-4825
🏠 Accommodation
Accommodation at Athiva Resort is covered for the official convening dates (March 30 – April 3). Additional nights before or after the convening are not covered.
Participants who must arrive early due to flight availability may request coverage of a night near the airport on a case-by-case basis.
👔 Dress Code
Business casual during the conference. National dress is also acceptable and encouraged.
Khandala in late March/early April is hot and dry — we recommend light, breathable clothing for both indoor and outdoor settings.
🛂 Visa Information
Please apply for an e-Business Visa at the Indian e-Visa website. When prompted to select an activity, choose "ATTEND TECHNICAL/BUSINESS MEETINGS."
For any field requesting your purpose of travel, use the following:
You will likely need your passport information page, a digital passport photo, and a copy of your business card or email signature. RF can provide a visa invitation letter, flight itinerary, and proof of accommodation upon request. Visa fees are not covered by RF.
Alex Robinson (Rockefeller Foundation) | arobinson@rockfound.org | WhatsApp: +1 703 415 6035
Preparing for Departure
- Consult your local medical provider regarding any recommended immunizations or preventative medications for travel to India.
- As of February 2026, Indian authorities require travelers to complete an e-arrival card up to 72 hours before arrival: indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival