#6 Conclusions: the 'tedious' (but very real) issue of Climate Change

As one of society's most urgent and threatening challenges, Climate Change is likely to define the future of water and gender in Africa, but how?

A shift in focus

Climate change is set to change our environments much more than it already has, and this will have an effect on the relationship between water and gender; most notably how women's daily struggles and activities relating to water will change. How these issues will come into shape is debatable. Even though many people assume climate change means drought (and it does in many cases), some areas are seeing the opposite, particularly in East Africa (see Figure 1), so it is challenging to know exactly how certain areas will be affected long term. 

Figure 1: Map showing floods in East Africa in 2019

The potentials and limitations

With the growth of initiatives that tackle WASH issues, communities across Africa are increasingly equipped to tackle the new challenges of climate change. This is because access to WASH is linked to better adaptation to climate change impacts. I recently watched a webinar by Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) that explained this and helped inform its partners, including WaterAid and UNICEF, of strategies to implement climate resilience in WASH interventions and of the importance of WASH climate risk assessments to ensure mitigations are as efficient as possible. 

However, when it comes to issues like period poverty, women may see more difficulties in maintaining their menstrual hygiene alongside issues of climate change and the extra labour it brings. Indeed, Green Africa Youth Organisation (GAYO) has become a pioneer in tackling period poverty exacerbated by climate change. For instance, in the Bolgatanga region of northern Ghana, the Kandiga community is facing increased desertification, and the resulting crop failure means families are struggling to afford menstrual products for women and girls. GAYO is working with women in the region to make menstrual products as a supplementary income and dig nearby boreholes so they can access drinking water safely, hereby empowering women's agency in their fight against climate change (see Figure 2). 

Figure 2: Video "Water 4 Adaptation"

More recently, COP27 showcased female leaders and representatives that shed light on a more hopeful future for the millions of girls that are still suffering disproportionately in the face of climate change. Figure 3 below shows representatives from the Water for Women Fund at COP27. While there was more sophistication in the attention given to WASH and water was formally mentioned in the final declarations of COP27 for the first time ever, women were still underrepresented overall as they accounted for less than 10 out of the 110 world leaders that attended the summit. Work in progress, but still work to do!

Figure 3: Panelists from the Water Pavilion at COP27