This study fills a unique gap in the integration of health planning and climate adaptation in places of compounded environmental and socio-economic stressors. It presents the integrated health planning framework for climate zones (IHPF-CZ), which aims to systematically connect climate adaptation and resilience strategies to public health and health equity impacts. The IHPF-CZ was tested empirically during a 12-month multi-modal study in varying climates and socio-economic levels in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Yemen. The IHPF-CZ merges three interdependent components: hybrid gray–green–blue (3-H) infrastructure, digital equity, and adaptive governance. The methodology includes IoT (Internet of Things) sensor networks, AI (artificial intelligence) predictive modeling, health surveillance (via the International Classification of Diseases 10th revision), satellite remote sensing, and blockchain/resource allocation. This integration allows for real-time control, responsive governance, and adaptive planning in resource- and climate-stressed environments. As substantial evidence shows, there are major co-benefits in health, climate, and resource efficiency. Flood occurrences were reduced by 40.1% in areas prone to flooding. In arid cities, average urban ambient temperatures decreased by 5.1°C. There was a 25% reduction in heat-related illnesses, along with declines in emergency visits and community heat stress. In addition, agricultural water use efficiency increased by 30.6%, and equitable resource distribution improved, as shown by a decrease in the Gini coefficient from 0.42 to 0.19. These findings show that when climate adaptation is designed with a health and equity focus instead of simply treating it as a sectoral intervention, it provides significant and measurable benefits to society. The most notable finding of this study is that the IHPF-CZ serves as a proof of concept for a data-driven and scalable model that can achieve the interconnected goals of climate resilience, public health, and sustainable development, particularly in fragile, resource-depleted regions.
Adeb Ebrahim (Sat,) studied this question.