Women leading health protection from climate change

Climate change and environmental extremes, such as extreme heat, high ambient air pollution, cyclones, flash flooding, and bushfires have a strong mediating impact on the health of all those exposed to varying degrees, and this is especially so for women bare a disproportionate health burden. The health impacts of climate change affect every bodily system, and indeed women are 14% more likely to die in a climate emergency compared to men. Rates of violence against women increases exponentially for every one degree above seasonal average. Pregnant women are at a higher risk of poor birth outcomes during acute and prolonged periods of environmental extremes. Poor mental health after a climate emergency is more common in women. Women and girls face higher exposure to and poorer outcomes from water and vector-borne infectious diseases that increase during and after flooding. Women with heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes also appear to be at high risk of worse health outcomes during environmental extremes.

Climate change is an amplifier of inequity. Existing social, cultural, and economic inequalities often place women at greater risk of worse climate-mediated health outcomes. There is also some evidence that females are more biologically at-risk of poor health outcomes during certain environmental extremes, such as post-menopausal women being at higher risk of heat related illness and death during heatwaves, or young girls having a higher likelihood of urinary tract infections during flooding or of child marriage after environmental disasters.

Extreme heat negatively impacts every bodily system – placing particular strain on the brain, cardiovascular system, and kidneys. Women appear to be at a higher risk of heat-related illness and death compared to men, where extreme heat exposure has been shown to increase the risk of dehydration, heat related illness, heart stress, and kidney stress. Extreme heat is also a trigger for gender-based violence against women. Women who are pregnant are at particularly high risk, where prolonged heat exposure is associated with increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and pre-term labour.

Climate change can reduce crop yields, disrupt food supplies, and increase both droughts and floods. These impacts make it harder for communities to access safe, nutritious food and clean water, affecting health, livelihoods, and wellbeing. When such resources are scarce, it is often women who are the first to go without. Women are often responsible for securing water and food for their families, and having to travel further for these resources also puts women’s safety at an elevated risk.

Climate resilience is the ability of people, communities, and systems to prepare for, adapt to, and recover from climate-related challenges while protecting health, livelihoods, and wellbeing. It is the power to withstand adversity.

Women bring invaluable knowledge, leadership, and lived expertise from the frontlines of communities experiencing the detrimental impacts of a changing climate. Their participation in climate action helps create more effective, equitable, and sustainable solutions for their communities and future generations.

Women are leading climate solutions by bringing diverse peoples together, driving community-led initiatives that build resilience and enhance health protection, sharing information and knowledge, and advocating for greater equity and social inclusion in climate and health policy to ensure that no one is left behind.

SHE CAN has received early seed funding from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Generating Research Impact Award and the Asian Development Bank Pacific office to facilitate co-design and early collaborative activities. The network is now actively seeking donor partners and investment to catalyse on this important groundwork and scale program activities.