The global climate crisis is putting women and girls in extreme danger, UNFPA warns in new data

New York, 27 November 2023 – The global climate emergency threatens any chance of women and girls achieving gender equality in the countries most vulnerable to climate change, according to new data from UNFPA, the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency.

UNFPA’s new research examines four key gender equality indicators – maternal mortality, intimate partner violence, adolescent birth rates, and child marriage – in 14 countries most at risk from the effects of climate change. The findings paint a grim picture: The countries most at risk of climate change are also those where women and girls are in greatest danger. In many of these countries, women and girls face the greatest risks of dying during pregnancy and childbirth, child marriage and adolescent birth rates are among the highest in the world, and women and girls experience extreme levels of gender-based violence.

As the global climate emergency intensifies and climate financing continues to fall short of protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights, the situation for these women and girls will only worsen. It is therefore vital that upcoming climate talks in Dubai prioritize the needs of women and girls and back it up with significant financing to strengthen health systems and ensure that the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls are met during the global climate emergency.

"The climate crisis is having profound impacts on women and girls around the world. Climate-driven disasters are displacing them from their homes, putting family planning clinics, maternal healthcare and safe spaces out of reach,” says UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem. “Without urgent measures, climate change will set back the clock even further on achieving gender equality. The time is now to put women and girls at the heart of climate action."

Key Findings:

Of the 14 countries most vulnerable to climate change:

• 6 are among the top 10 countries with the highest maternal death rates. 
• 5 are among the top 10 with the highest adolescent birth rates.
• 7 are among the top 10 with the worst child marriage rates.
• 4 are among the top 10 with the highest rates of intimate partner violence.
• 13 are experiencing a humanitarian crisis requiring assistance at the beginning of 2024.

UNFPA calls on leaders at COP 28 in Dubai to take action to:

• Significantly increase climate financing to build climate-resilient health systems that address the needs of women and girls. 
• Include adaptation of sexual and reproductive health systems in national climate plans. (A UNFPA report released in October showed that only a third of 119 countries acknowledged sexual and reproductive health and rights in their climate plans.)
• Include women and girls in high level decision-making on climate adaptation and mitigation solutions. 
• Improve data gathering on how the climate emergency is impacting women and girls. 

About the data*:

The list of countries most vulnerable to climate change comes from the INFORM Climate Change Risk Index. The 14 countries, in order from the most at risk, are: Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger, Mozambique, Syria, Mali, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Iraq.

Data on maternal health, gender-based violence, child marriage and intimate partner violence  comes from UNFPA’s 2023 State of World Population report. This report shows: 

The 10 highest maternal mortality rates are found in the following countries (maternal deaths are per 100,000 live births) (the highest climate-risk countries are in bold): South Sudan (1,223), Chad (1,063), Nigeria (1,047), Central African Republic (835), Guinea-Bissau (725), Liberia (652), Somalia (621), Afghanistan (620), Lesotho (566), Guinea (553)

The 10 highest child marriage rates are found in the following countries (percentage of women age 18 married while still a child) (the highest climate-risk countries are in bold): Niger (76), Central African Republic (61), Chad (61), Mali (54), Mozambique (53), South Sudan (52), Bangladesh (51), Burkina Faso (51), Guinea (47), Somalia (45)

The 10 highest adolescent birth rates are found in the following countries (births are per 1,000 girls aged 15-19) (the highest climate-risk countries are in bold): Central African Republic (184), Mozambique (180), Equatorial Guinea (176), Mali (164), Angola (163), South Sudan (158), Madagascar (143), Chad (139), United Republic of Tanzania (139), Malawi (136)

The 10 highest rates of intimate partner violence are in the following countries (percentage of women who experienced violence in the last 12 months)(the highest climate-risk countries are in bold): Democratic Republic of the Congo (36), Afghanistan (35), Papua New Guinea (31), Equatorial Guinea (29), Vanuatu (29), Solomon Islands (28), Timor-Leste (28), Zambia (28), Ethiopia (27), South Sudan (27)
*All available data is contained in this news release.

Spokespeople available for interviews:

• Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA Executive Director 
• Dr. Julitta Onabanjo, UNFPA Director Technical Division

More Resources:

• UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO call to action on protecting maternal, newborn and child health from the impacts of climate change (November 2023)
• UNFPA report Taking Stock: Sexual and Reproductive and Health and Rights in Climate Commitments: A Global Review Summary (September 2023)
• UNFPA photography and video on the climate crisis available free to download. 

UNFPA at COP 28 in Dubai

Sunday, 3 December 2023 

• Road to ICPD30: Enhancing rights-based NDCs and Integration of Gender-transformative Approaches 
• 15:00-16:30 Gulf Standard Time, SE Room 7 Blue Zone 

Monday, 4 December 2023

• Interactive dialogue: Gendered dimensions of climate-related emergencies: Partnerships and financing through a gender and localization lens
• 10:00 -11:30 Gulf Standard Time Humanitarian Pavilion

Monday, 4 December 2023

• Climate change and violence against women: Zero degrees of separation
• 14:00-15:00 Gulf Standard Time, Action Arena 1 (Al Hur) Blue Zone

Tuesday, 5 December 2023

• Birth in a burning World: Action for maternal and newborn health and justice
• 12:00-13:00 Gulf Standard Time, Resilience Hub, Health and Wellbeing Theme

Friday, 8 December 2023

• Fostering intersectional action: Youth, peace and climate security
• 17:00-18:30 Gulf Standard Time, Presidency Roundtable Blue Zone 

Friday, 8 December 2023

• Climate Action Delivering for Maternal Health: Gaps and Opportunities
• 9:30-10:45 Gulf Standard Time, WHO Pavillion Blue Zone

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UNFPA media contacts: 

• Eddie Wright, ewright@unfpa.org +1 917 831 2074
• Affan Chowdhry, chowdhry@unfpa.org +44 7918 588379

About UNFPA:
UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. UNFPA’s mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA calls for the realization of reproductive rights for all and supports access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning, quality maternal health care and comprehensive sexuality education.
 

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