UNFPA report finds sexual and reproductive health of women and girls missing from most national climate plans

New York, 10 October 2023 – Women and girls are among the hardest hit by the climate emergency, but fewer than one third of countries that have published their climate plans have committed to upholding the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls, according to new findings by UNFPA, the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency.

The report Taking Stock: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Climate Commitments: A Global Review, is being published and launched in collaboration with Queen Mary University of London and IDRC Canada*. In a global first, the report examines the climate plans of 119 countries and whether they integrate access to contraception, safe birthing, and protecting women and girls from gender-based violence into their adaptation goals. Many countries have made commendable progress in highlighting sexual and reproductive health and rights in their plans; but a majority fall short.  

“The climate crisis is not gender-neutral. In those countries most at-risk, women and girls are disproportionately affected even though they have contributed the least to the global climate emergency,” says UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem. “Highlighting emerging evidence of the impacts of climate change on the health and wellbeing of women and girls – from increased poverty and food insecurity to poorer maternal health outcomes to increased risk of gender-based violence and harmful practices – this review is a timely reminder of why it is so critical that countries prioritize sexual and reproductive health and rights in their climate strategies.”

Key findings include: 

• 38 out of 119 countries integrate sexual and reproductive health and rights in national climate plans. 
• Many countries recognize the direct and indirect impact of climate change on maternal and newborn health. Heat exposure can increase infant and maternal mortality (South Sudan) and pose risks to pregnant women and those in the process of menopause (Côte d’Ivoire).
• Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by climate-crisis-driven food insecurity and malnutrition and they make up the majority of the malnourished in the four countries where famine or famine-like conditions are present, (Burkina Faso, Mali, Somalia and South Sudan).
• Other countries outlined the need to build climate-resilient health systems that can respond to extreme weather events (Paraguay) and improve maternal and newborn health outcomes (Seychelles, Benin).
• Nine countries include a description of policies or interventions to address the increase in incidence of gender-based violence in the context of climate change (the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Sierra Leone, the Comoros, Seychelles, Costa Rica, Jordan, Tunisia and Guinea). 

The report is being launched in London at 10 a.m. BST, weeks before national leaders and policymakers attend a critical global climate summit, COP28, in Dubai. To RSVP for in-person attendance or virtual participation, please register here. 

Spokespeople available for interviews:

• Dr. Diene Keita, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director 
• Dr. Julitta Onabanjo, UNFPA Director Technical Division

UNFPA media contacts: 

• Eddie Wright, ewright@unfpa.org +1 917 831 207 
• Anna Jefferys, jefferys@unfpa.org +1 917 769 7454

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.

 

* IDRC Canada was added on 12 October 2023