In memory of David Nabarro

The sudden passing of David Nabarro has left us at the Climate Cares Centre in a state of shock and grief.

We are not alone in these feelings, and are already hearing from some of the thousands around the world whose lives have been deeply touched, and changed for the better by knowing David. David is known globally as a towering intellect – a man of incisive insight and deep knowledge of systems thinking and global health action. He was also a man of great heart – great passion, enthusiasm, kindness, humour and care, with an infectious ability to get others to speak from their heart too.

It came as no surprise to us to learn that he was once a DJ – his ability to ‘read the room’, and to facilitate alchemising many individuals into a beautiful collective mosaic of shared experience was miraculous to witness.

David was a very generous leader.  Despite his huge agenda, he freely gave of his time.  To meet with David was to feel special, with him focused on you as an individual, ever ready to give wise counsel.  He met vast numbers of people, but his incredible powers of recollection and connection meant that he was able to ask about the issues close to your heart. The type of leadership David exemplified – leadership through deep and genuine kindness, challenging when necessary, speaking authentically and sharing power to uplift the voices of those most disadvantaged – has never been more needed. The legacy of David’s unique and critical leadership will live on among the many he was a mentor to.

He was a huge champion of Connecting Climate Minds.  His work on nutrition meant he saw the food supply challenges of global warming and the flow through of this to mental health concerns.  His ability to ‘join the dots’ as a systems leader meant he saw the struggles around the world for equality, for the health of people and places, for peace, as interconnected. He knew the challenges we face.

Yet he also saw the opportunities.  Throughout David’s life he was convinced of the power of dialogue and how people from around the world can come together to improve health and meet each other as humans – whether farmer or President.  And that’s the ethos behind Connecting Climate Minds.

David left us at a time when he had so much more planned, including a trip to Addis Adaba this week to progress work on food that he was eagerly anticipating. In his final weeks, he told us that we was at the peak of his happiness. We feel incredibly lucky to have been ignited one last time by the fire of energy that David so generously shared with everyone he met. We will miss him immensely.  But we have also been incredibly privileged to have known and learned from him.  And the greatest legacy he would want to leave would be to inspire us all to make a difference to global health, particularly for the most disadvantaged.  He saw that the cross-cutting goal of all sustainable development is the more intangible, but no less important goal of love and joy. The outpouring of love we are witnessing and feel ourselves for David’s memory is a testament to how he lived this out.

Here is a space where those who worked with David through Connecting Climate Minds (or on other projects) can post their own memories of David.  We will share with Florence and his wider family.