Rural Women Greatly Affected by Climate Change
The effects of climate change have hit hard on rural women in developing countries.
This transpired during a three-day conference on climate change effects, especially on rural women organised by UN Women Multi Country Office in Benoni, Johannesburg last week. The conference, titled ‘Building climate resilient societies through empowerment of women’ was attended by close to 30 participants from Swaziland, South Africa, Lesotho, Malawi, Botswana and Tanzania.
It was highlighted that rural women in developing countries are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change as drought and unpredictable rainfall patterns directly affect women’s ability to act as primary producers and collectors of staple food, energy and water for the household.
It was said climate change cuts across a wide range of women’s lives, including food security, water management, energy, human settlements, transport and health.
Antonio Olmedo