Explainer: How Environmental Issues, Disease, and Finance Are Connected

On World Environment Day 2025, EBC Financial Group is highlighting how environmental problems like plastic pollution and deforestation are driving the spread of diseases such as malaria—and how finance can play a crucial role in building healthier, more resilient communities.

What Is the Link Between Environment and Disease?

Environmental changes are making it easier for diseases to spread:

- Deforestation and rising temperatures are pushing mosquitoes into new areas, including higher altitudes and regions that were once low risk.

- Plastic pollution creates stagnant water, which is the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.

- In places like Colombia and the Amazon, deforestation has increased malaria risk for rural and Indigenous communities. In Bangladesh, flooding and water stagnation—worsened by plastic waste—are fuelling outbreaks. Even southern Europe has reported isolated cases as mosquitoes survive in new climates.

What does this mean for you?

When the environment suffers, public health and the economy are also at risk. For example, in sub-Saharan Africa, malaria causes up to half a billion lost workdays and about $12 billion in lost productivity every year, hitting children, working-age adults, and low-income communities the hardest.

What Is Climate-Smart Finance?

Climate-smart finance means using financial resources to support projects and solutions that help people and the environment adapt to climate change and reduce its impact. This can include funding for health interventions, clean energy, and community resilience efforts.

Health equity is about making sure everyone, especially those in vulnerable communities, has fair access to healthcare and protection from environmental risks.

What does this mean for you?

Climate-smart finance can help fund mosquito nets, rapid diagnostic kits, and treatments for malaria in areas most affected by disease and climate change. It also supports local projects that protect both people and ecosystems.

What Is EBC Doing?

- EBC has partnered with the United Nations Foundation’s United to Beat Malaria campaign for two years, supporting efforts to fight malaria and promote environmental awareness.

- In 2025, EBC became an official sponsor of the Move Against Malaria 5K, with over 200 employees participating across the UK, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

- EBC’s support helps provide insecticide-treated bed nets, diagnostic kits, and antimalarial treatments in high-risk regions. In 2024, United to Beat Malaria helped protect 1.67 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa and 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

- EBC leaders have joined global policy discussions to advocate for ongoing investment in health and environmental protection.

FAQ

Q: Why is malaria spreading to new places?

A: Climate change, deforestation, and pollution are creating new habitats for mosquitoes, allowing malaria to reach areas that were previously safe.

Q: What is climate-smart finance?

A: It’s using money and resources to fund projects that help communities adapt to climate change and reduce its negative effects, including health risks.

Q: How does this affect the economy?

A: Diseases like malaria reduce productivity, increase healthcare costs, and can slow down economic growth, especially in vulnerable regions.

Key Takeaways

- Environmental problems like deforestation and plastic pollution are fueling the spread of diseases such as malaria.

- Climate-smart finance supports projects that protect both people and the environment.

- EBC is committed to advancing health equity and environmental resilience through partnerships and direct action.

- Collective action and investment are needed to create healthier, more sustainable communities.

Disclaimer:

This material is for general information purposes only and is not intended as (and should not be considered to be) financial, investment or other advice on which reliance should be placed. No opinion given in the material constitutes a recommendation by EBC or the author that any particular investment, security, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person.