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South America is experiencing the effects of climate change, including extreme weather events and changes in temperature and precipitation patterns. These effects interact with existing social vulnerabilities, exacerbating their impact on the health and wellbeing of populations. This viewpoint highlights four main messages from the series, which presented key gaps from five different perspectives of health and climate. First, there is an overall need for local analyses of priority topics to inform public policy, which include national and sub-national evidence to adequately strengthen responses and preparedness for climate change hazards and address relevant social vulnerabilities in South American countries. Second, research in health and climate is done in silos and the intersection is not clear in terms of responsibility and leadership; therefore, transdisciplinary research and action are key. Third, climate research, policies, and action need to be reflected in effective funding schemes, which until now are very limited. For adaptation and mitigation policies to be effective, they need a robust and long-term funding scheme. Finally, climate action is a big opportunity for healthier and more prosperous societies in South America, taking the advantage of strategic climate policies to face the challenges of climate change and tackle existing social inequities.

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© 2023 The Author(s).

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MYG, LBV, and MR were supported by the Wellcome Trust (209734/Z/17/Z). MR was also supported by Horizon Europe–ID Alert, and MFS by the Brandt Endowment in Environmental Communication at Michigan State University during the conduct of the study. AGL is sponsored by Emerge, the Emerging Diseases Epidemiology Research Training grant D43 TW007393 awarded by the Fogarty International Center of the US National Institutes of Health. The funding sources had no role in the design of this study nor during its execution, analyses, interpretation of the data, or decision to submit results. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. DB is a staff member of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The author alone is responsible for the views expressed in this publication, and they do not necessarily represent the decisions or policies of PAHO.