“Integrate climate change with sexual and reproductive health to safeguard the wellbeing of all” -UNFPA
Posted by Bukola Daike on May 25, 2021 at 8:30 am
“Climate change is one of the most disruptive issues of our time. Not only is it a disrupter of progress towards development, but it is also a multiplier of existing health vulnerabilities and gender inequalities,” said Dr. Julitta Onabanjo, Regional Director for UNFPA East and Southern Africa.
The destruction of households and livelihoods, and the loss of livestock and crops due to severe droughts are a reality for many people in Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and the Sahel region. Hard hit by climate change, they also endure difficulties in dealing with its negative consequences.
Often, it is women and girls who bear the brunt of climate change.
When a climate-related disaster strikes, women and girls are exposed to vulnerabilities that put them at greater risk of gender-based violence. Young girls who are unable to attend school if they are displaced, for instance, risk being married off early by parents who can no longer afford to look after them if they have lost their livelihoods. A girl married as a child to a much older man is at greater risk of intimate partner violence due to an imbalance of power in the relationship.
During disasters, health services – including sexual and reproductive health services – are often limited and at times not available, such that women often give birth without much-needed medical support. In addition, women’s and girl’s ability to manage their menstruation with dignity is impaired when there is a lack of clean water and menstrual products.
Click here to read the full article
