The European Space Agency (ESA), through its Global Development Assistance (GDA) programme, contributed to the INSPIRE Health Forum 2025 (INclusive, Sustainable, Prosperous and REsilient Health Systems in Asia and the Pacific Health Forum), held at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Headquarters in Manila from 7–11 July. Organised by ADB’s Health Sector Group, the event brought together policymakers, technical experts, and development partners to exchange insights on building more inclusive, climate-resilient, and effective health systems across Asia and the Pacific.
ESA’s participation formed part of its ongoing collaboration with ADB through the Global Development Assistance programme, specifically under the Public Health thematic activity. This activity supports the integration of Earth Observation (EO) into health sector planning and investment processes. By providing consistent, spatially explicit data and analysis, EO can help identify health vulnerabilities, monitor climate-related risks, and inform the design and implementation of targeted, evidence-based interventions.
ESA’s contribution to the INSPIRE Health Forum spanned four key moments, each illustrating how Earth Observation can inform climate-sensitive health planning and support development operations.The week began with a session on The Bellagio HEAT & Health Framework, where Brian Riley (ADB Health Officer) introduced ADB’s growing collaboration with ESA. Lennart Meine (Mundialis) then presented a case study developed under the ESA GDA Public Health thematic activity: the Climate-Health Data and EO Services Platform for Pakistan. This operational platform integrates EO, climate, and health data into a user-friendly tool tailored for non-experts, such as public health practitioners and development planners. Its first two services focus on heat-stress risk mapping and a dengue outbreak early warning system, supporting national stakeholders and IFIs in strengthening climate-informed health monitoring and response.
Later that day, ESA was invited to ADB’s Partnership Night, which brought together key partners to celebrate joint efforts in advancing sustainable and resilient health systems. The event provided an opportunity to reaffirm ESA and ADB’s collaboration and highlight the relevance of EO across sectors in development finance.
On Wednesday, ESA co-organised a session with ADB, and the World Health Organization (WHO) on Digital Health Innovations and the Use of GIS and Earth Observation in the Health Sector. The session focused on how digital tools, particularly EO, can support more targeted, data-driven health interventions. Yves Barthelemy, ESA’s secondee to ADB and Digital Technology Specialist (Earth Observation) at ADB, presented how EO services developed through the GDA programme are being aligned with ADB’s operational needs to enhance sector planning and delivery.
Yves Barthelemy also contributed to the ADB Health Leadership course, presenting the broader ESA–ADB collaboration and discussing EO’s role as part of emerging trends in Public Health sector. The session was attended by 40 participants from 17 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
ESA’s GDA programme aims to foster the practical use of EO within International Financial Institutions by co-designing services that respond to operational needs. The INSPIRE Forum offered a valuable opportunity to demonstrate this approach in action and exchange on its potential in the health domain.
Yves Barthelemy, ESA Focal Point at the Asian Development Bank
