Water, Gender and Development in Africa

 Introduction Climate change is a critical factor in current and future changes to the water cycle. The sad reality is whilst African nations contribute the least to global emissions, they are most affected by the impacts of climate change, due to the over reliance on the natural environment. Currently,    9 out of 10 of the most vulnerable countries to climate change are in Sub Saharan Africa alone.  Furthermore, climate change is not gender neutral. Because of their economic marginalisation, political disenfranchisement and differentiated labour responsibilities, women are most severely affected by climate change.  This blog will look at the disproportionate effects of climate change through the lens of ‘intersectional feminism’ . This video by  Simavi , summarises the topics I've covered in my blogs. The impacts of climate change on women's agricultural productivity  Increased climate variability reduces agricultural productivity posing unequal imp...

Introduction Following on from my previous blog, we can see how women and girls are at danger when they collect water or openly defecate. Open defecation is prevalent across Africa (as seen in Figure 1) , with Eritrea having the highest number of people openly defecating (67%), followed by Chad (64%). These women are often violently confronted by men at the water point queues, water fetching paths and open defecation routes.  This blog will explore some of these dangers, as well as looking at possible solutions. It will look at the right to sanitation in an ‘endangered’ manner.  Figure 1: People practising open defecation in Africa (% of population) WHO/UNICEF 2019 Problems of inadequate WASH facilities  Poor sanitation facilities creates discomfort and insecurity for millions of women in Africa. Women often leave before dawn or after nightfall to maintain privacy. When women wait till dark to use the toilet, they drink less during the day, resulting in health probl...