As Mozambique experiences more severe cyclone seasons, Zambia's drought intensifies, and Malawi's communities are devastated by flooding, no part of the East and Southern Africa Region is immune to the undeniable impact of climate change.

Climate disasters cause the collapse of health, education, and agricultural systems, destroying people’s lives and livelihoods and putting women and girls in danger.

Almost 40% of all disaster displacements involving women and girls occurred in countries most at risk of climate emergencies but least prepared for them. Research has shown that an increase of 1°C in the week before delivery corresponds with a six percent greater likelihood of stillbirths with flooding being responsible for more than 100,000 lost pregnancies a year in 33 countries in South and Central America, Asia, and Africa – with the greatest risks among poor women. Also, a UNFPA and Queen Mary University London review of post 2020 NDCs of 119 countries show that only a third of countries (38/119) integrate SRHR, GBV and harmful practices into their climate plans. In East and Southern Africa, it was only 8 out of the 19 countries reviewed that showed this integration. It is clear that the climate emergency will disproportionately affect those that are already most vulnerable.

Climate change is a major threat to the vision of human-centered sustainable development outlined in the ICPD Programme of Action and reinforced by the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25. It multiplies existing health vulnerabilities, including insufficient access to safe water and improved sanitation, food insecurity, and impacts on access to health care and education.

UNFPA guides its work to three main achievements: zero preventable maternal mortality, zero unmet need for family planning, and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices. Climate change is already greatly impacting the likelihood of us achieving these goals by 2030, this is why we join the urgent call for gender-transformative climate action, requiring coordination at – and solutions from – all levels.

The implications of climate change and climate disasters linked to health and populations might appear invisible, but the profound impact climate change has on women and girls is an undeniable fact.

Increased poverty and food insecurity driven by climate-related loss of livelihoods can lead to worse health outcomes, especially for pregnant women and newborns. With increasing drought, women and girls are expected to travel longer distances to collect water and firewood, exposing them to sexual and gender-based violence. In some cases, even the roads they need to walk to get to health centers are flooded, and accessing health services becomes impossible. 

During times of disaster, health services are often limited and at times not available, which means that more women give birth without much-needed medical support. The disruption of health systems leads to unavailability of commodities including contraception which increases the risk of early, unintended pregnancies.

UNFPA has also identified a strong link between intimate partner violence and extreme weather events. On average, a one standard deviation temperature anomaly leads to a 3% increase in the probability that a woman is affected by physical violence.

In the Region, UNFPA  is working with governments and partners to support adaptation responses and resilience to climate change, and to put women and girls at the centre of these efforts. Through an intersectional approach, UNFPA tackles existing inequalities in SRHR and maximizes the power of women and young people to help build adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change.