Climate music video Oya "a striking West African climate change intervention through song and dance" Watch w backstory at Heating Planet blog

"Oya" features music and choreography created by West African artists singers and dancers from École des Sables in Senegal. Written for Medecins Sans Frontier, the lyrics interpret testimonies from MSF projects in Niger, Cameroon, and Madagascar. The dance represents elements of the environment in countries where MSF works, which are often most impacted by climate change. WATCH: "Oya,” a striking West African climate change intervention through music and dance, produced by MSF for COP 30 November 2025. 

FROM MSF Website https://www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and artists unite to call for urgent action to protect at-risk communities with the release of the song “Oya,” ahead of the crucial COP30 climate talks in Brazil.In 2024 alone, 

MSF teams responded to devastating floods in West Africa and South Sudan, repeated cyclones in Madagascar and severe heatwaves and drought in the Horn of Africa. Across the Sahel, the deadly combination of malaria and malnutrition overwhelmed pediatric services. In Chad, MSF is now providing year-round treatment and prevention for malnutrition. 

Last year was the hottest ever recorded, the tenth consecutive year of record-breaking heat. 

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, nearly 70 per cent of global deaths are linked to climate-related diseases. 

Yet climate action remains far too limited. 

 “These problems will only intensify if nothing is done. Action is needed now to prevent the worst health and humanitarian consequences of the climate crisis. Through art, we want to remind people that hope exists– if we act now.” 

“The climate crisis is first and foremost a health crisis,” says Didier-Mukeba Tshialala, physician and MSF medical coordinator for West and Central Africa. 

“At-risk communities are paying with their health and their lives for a problem they did not create.” “At-risk communities are paying with their health and their lives for a problem they did not create.”  

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AI Overview "Oya" is an artistic initiative by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) that uses a song and contemporary African dance to raise awareness about the health impacts of the climate crisis. Released ahead of the COP30 climate talks, the project features West African artists, including Mao Sidibé and the École des Sables, and blends music, dance, and testimonies to highlight the urgent need for climate action. 

The term "Oya" is a West African word meaning "it's time" or "let's go," emphasizing the project's message of urgency.

The climate crisis is a health crisis and the African continent, where Doctors Without Borders has most of our projects is disproportionately affected. At-risk communities are paying with their health and their lives for a problem they did not create. Urgent action is needed now to limit the damage and to support the communities that are suffering the most.