Transcript File - Healthy Planet UK

The impact of climate change on the health
and well-being of women
Global Health and Justice in a
Changing Environment
Healthy Planet UK conference
Mala Rao OBE
Professor of International Health, University of
East London
Honorary Consultant in Public Health, Public
Health England
Source: www.artforchange.tv
Climate Change and women
• Climate change is the biggest
global health threat of the 21st
century.
• It will have a profound impact
on disease patterns
worldwide, and especially in
developing countries
• What is less well recognized or
talked about is that women
are the most likely to suffer
from climate change
A.P. With sea-level rising, a nation plans en masse move. The Hindu. 11 March 2012.
Available at: http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/article2982085.ece
Pic from
http://thewere42.wordpress.com/
Source:
http://climatecongress.ku.dk/pdf/ClosingSessionPresentation.pdf/ Summary of key messages. Climate Change. Global risks , challenges and
.
decisions Copenhagen 10-12 march, 2009
Costello, A. and others. 2009. “Managing the Health Effects of Climate Change.” The Lancet 373 (9676): 1693-1733.
http://oxfam.ca/our-work/campaigns/women-and-climate-change
How climate change affects women
• Women take the brunt of climate change
because
– it is women who make up the majority of
the world’s poor and
– it is those with the fewest resources who
will be most susceptible to its negative
effects.
Source: www.artforchange.tv
• “The gender inequalities that define women’s
lives prior to a climate disaster are really what
put them at such greatly increased risk from
climate change”- Kavita Ramdas, President of
the Global Fund For Women
UNFPA & WEDO Report 2009 - Climate Connections Executive Summary. http://www.unfpa.org/public/publications/pid/4028
Robert Engelman. The State of World Population 2009.United Nations Population Fund. 2009
Heat waves
 More frequent worldwide
 Associated with marked short term
increase in mortality
 Evidence of high mortality in
outdoor workers
Who informs the construction workers of the risks? 51% of these in
India being women
:
Source
UNDP. Gender and Climate Change.2008
Confalonieri, U et al, 2007: Human health. Climate
Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 391-431.
Barnabas A et al. A Study on the Empowerment of Women Construction Workers
as Masons in Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of International Women’s Studies. 2009; 11:122-141
Extreme weather events
 Women and children 14 times more likely to die than
men during a disaster
 1991 cyclone which killed 140, 000 people in Bangladesh
- 90% victims were women
 Hurricane Katrina - most victims trapped in New Orleans
were African – American women with their children, the
poorest population in that part of the country
 An analysis of disasters in 141 countries showed that
where women’s rights were compromised, female
mortality was higher than that for males
 Women more likely to die
Engelman. The State of World Population
– Primary care-givers and stay at home to look after the Robert
2009.United Nations Population Fund. 2009. Permission
granted by advocacy unit UNFPA India on 13 March 2012.
family or search for dependents immediately after
disasters
– Cultural norms such as women’s inability to swim may
Pic from UNPFA Report - State of the World Population 2009
prove
fatal
Source:
Neumayer, E., Plümper, T. (2007) The gendered nature of natural disasters: the impact of catastrophic events on the gender gap in life expectancy, 1981–2002. Annals of the Association of
American Geographers, 97 (3). pp. 551-566. cited in: Haigh C, Vallely B. Gender and the Climate Change Agenda. Women’s Environmental Network. 2010
Soroptimist International of the Americas. (2008). “Reaching Out to Women When Disaster Strikes.” White Paper: Disaster Relief. Philadelphia, PA. http://staging.soroptimist.org/
whitepapers/wp_disaster.htm
Bern. C et al. Risk factors for mortality in the Bangladesh Cyclone of 1991. Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Oxfam International - Rethinking disasters 2008. Rethinking Disasters Cover Page
Drought
‘Women are the majority of the world's small-scale
farmers and produce most of the world's food. But
climate change has made the risky business of farming
all the more difficult. More frequent crop failures mean
women work harder and families eat less’.
 Reduced food security and severe undernutrition
particularly in women and children
– Women ate less during the Maha Akal drought in
Rajasthan
Oxfam International
Rethinking disasters. 2008
Sivekumar, Kerbert, 2004.
Drought, sustenance and Livelihoods: ‘Akal’ survey in Rajasthan,
Economic and Political weekly. Jan 2004
 Increased household work and reduced income
– Women and girls responsible for collecting and
carrying water
– They now have to walk longer distances to fetch safe
water, leaving less time to contribute to paid work
and resulting in halving of household income
Source:
Food and Agricultural Organization. http://www.fao.org/sd/wpdirect/wpan0022.htm
Population Action International. http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2008/07/global-climate-change-what-doe.html
Oxfam International Rethinking disasters. 2008. Rethinking Disasters Cover Page
http://oxfam.ca/our-work/campaigns/women-and-climate-change
Source: www.artforchange.tv
Drought as well as other climate disasters result in
Population displacements
– 80 percent of the world’s refugees made up of
women and children
Climate Conflict
 Amplifies existing gender inequalities
 Higher levels of violence in the home and in post
disaster refugee camps
– The experience of women and children
following the conflict in Darfur, Sudan,
resulting at least in part from climate change
– Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, increased
sexual assaults recorded by the National
Sexual Violence Resource Center in the US
Pic: A Climate of Conflict Report
Oxfam International Rethinking disasters. 2008. Rethinking Disasters
Cover Page
Source:
UNFPA & WEDO Report 2009 - Climate Connections Executive Summary. http://www.unfpa.org/public/publications/pid/4028
Smith, D and Vivekananda, J. (2007) ‘A climate of conflict: the links between climate change, peace and war’, International Alert, London
Population Action International http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2008/07/global-climate-change-what-doe.html
UNFPA Report. State of World Population 2009. http://www.unfpa.org/swp/
Vector borne diseases
 Global warming is increasing the
numbers of people globally at risk of
diseases such as malaria and dengue
 Women are more vulnerable because of
– Poor access to medical services
– Risks associated with infection
during pregnancy and lactation –
malaria is among the biggest killers
of pregnant women in sub-Saharan
Africa
– Their role as primary care givers
Source: www.artforchange.tv
Source:
International union for Conservation of Nature – Gender and Climate Change. Gender and Climate Change
UNFPA & WEDO Report 2009 - Climate Connections Executive Summary. http://www.unfpa.org/public/publications/pid/4028
UNFPA State of the World Population 2009. http://www.unfpa.org/swp/
Pic from New York Times
Climate Change, Women’s Health and MDGs
Climate change not only undermines women’s socio-economic
well being and health but also puts the overall achievement of the
MDGs at risk
 MDG 1- Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
– 70 percent of 1.3 billion people living below the poverty line in the
developing world, are women.
– Less than 15% land owned by women
 MDG 2- Achieve universal primary education
– In 2007 girls accounted for 54 percent of the world’s out-of-school
population and they are walking further now, to collect water
 MDG 4 - Reduce Child Mortality
– Maternal malnutrition likely to be a continuing and high risk
Source:
Climate change vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation: Why does Gender Matter? Fatma Denton. Climate change vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation: why
does ...
UNDP Millennium Development Goals Report 2009. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
Climate Change, Women’s Health and MDGs
 MDG 5 - Improve maternal health
– 80 percent of female labour force in developing world are in vulnerable
employment
– Extreme weather events affect women more
 MDG 6 - Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other disease
– A risk of falling incomes from farming and labour driving women into
sex work
 MDG 7 (Ensure environmental sustainability) & MDG 8 (Develop a
global partnership for development) require full participation of
women.
-- Identity, well-being and way of life of indigenous women at risk
MDG 3 - Promoting gender equality and empowering women
Is a crucially important means to achieving all other MDGs
Source:
Climate change vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation: Why does Gender Matter? Fatma Denton. Climate change vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation: why does ...
UNDP Millennium Development Goals Report 2009. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
http://oxfam.ca/our-work/campaigns/women-and-climate-change
The Carton Girls: The impact of climate change on young women of Cebu. MCA Gonzalez. Univ of Santo Tomas. 4th Asia Pacific Conference on Public Health Nov 2013
The way forward
Women have the knowledge and skills to adapt
to climate change and poverty reduction
– They need the power, tools and resources to
translate knowledge into action
Increase women’s participation in decision
making processes
– Use women’s strong body of traditional
knowledge
– In the islands of Micronesia, women’s
unique knowledge of the island’s hydrology, Prabu MJ. Prudent water management practises ensure self-suficiency. The Hindu. 16 Feb
enabled them to find water during a drought 2012. Available at: http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/agriculture/article2896668.ece
period
Source:
UNFPA State of the World Population 2009. http://www.unfpa.org/swp/
Oxfam International Rethinking disasters. 2008. Rethinking Disasters Cover Page
UNDP Resource Guide on Gender and Climate Change. GENDER AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Anderson, C. (2002). Gender Matters: implications for climate variability and climate change and for disaster management in the Pacific islands.
http://www.gencc. interconnection.org/resources.htm
The way forward…
Strengthen women’s role in community
leadership
– Women more likely to volunteer for
disaster management projects and build and
maintain social networks for community
resilience
– A report on deforestation in 61 nations
between 1990 and 2005 found that countries
with large and numerous women’s nongovernmental organisations showed
significantly lower levels of forest loss
Robert Engelman. The State of World Population 2009.United Nations Population Fund. 2009
– Took charge of monitoring early warning
systems for hurricanes in La Masica, Honduras
– 1991
Source:
UNFPA State of the World Population 2009. http://www.unfpa.org/swp/
UNDP Millennium Development Goals Report 2009. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
The way forward…
Empower women to bring a better understanding of
population dynamics, gender and reproductive health
to climate change discussions
 Higher levels of educational attainment and their
impact on reducing fertility are directly proportional to
the number of years of schooling completed
 Responding to the unmet need for family planning
and supporting girls’ education
-are much less costly than low-carbon
energy development options
Robert Engelman. The State of World Population 2009.United
Nations Population Fund. 2009
reduction in
- may contribute to a substantial
carbon emissions
Source: wi/
UNDP Millennium Development Goals Report 2009. htt://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
Ramdas K. “What’s Good for Women is Good for the Planet.” Accessed from http://www.realizingrights.org/
images/climate/Whats%20Good%20For%20Women.pdf on November 21, 2010. cited in: Roberts A, Imanguli N, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women and Youth in the Context of
Climate Change. Advocates for Youth. 2010.
What’s good for women is good for
the planet
Women leading the way to a more sustainable world
– Recognise that women are powerful agents of
change
–
‘Just 16 percent of the scientists contributing to the
work of the IPCC are women’
– Women’s political representation is slowly growing
but not fast enough
‘Women deserve more agency and social
power to help minimise the impacts of
climate change’
Source: wi/
UNDP Millennium Development Goals 2009. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
Hunter LM, Hatch A, Johnson A. Cross-National Gender Variation in Environmental Behaviors. Social Science Quaterly 2004; 85: 677-694
Ramdas K. “What’s Good for Women is Good for the Planet.” Accessed from http://www.realizingrights.org
http://oxfam.ca/our-work/campaigns/women-and-climate-change