Interrupted by climate change

A slight divergence from the initial structure of this blog, but I came across this recently published article by the World Health Organisation (WHO) discussing the impact of climate change on African countries (WHO, 2019). Whilst my focus is primarily on gender and water causing inequality, I think it is important to consider other water issues that appear in current affairs. Any freshwater supply conflict, such as the controversial Nile Renaissance Dam debate occurring now, that is appearing in the news can have direct and indirect impacts on women. So, whilst this particular post does not follow the structure I had mentioned in my introduction, I still believe it is important to consider the impacts of climate change on water and hence indirectly on women.

A school girl collecting water from a drying puddle in Nongoma, South Africa. Source

Climate change has heightened the unpredictability of water supply through increased periods of drought on one end of the spectrum and flash flooding at the other. This variability in precipitation threatens over-ground flow and similarly groundwater storages due to the reduced infiltration and replenishment (Shiu et al., 2012). Studies linking global warming to increased rainfall variability describe how drought and flash flooding are to be the most severe threats arising from global climate change (Shiu et al., 2012). Countries in the horn of Africa, such as Ethiopia, are susceptible to extreme drought heightened by climate change, causing severe socio-economic problems. It is also important to consider variability of precipitation within a country and not to over generalise. A study by Bewket and Conway in 2007 demonstrated that whilst Ethiopia is infamous for water shortages, it is in fact the eastern part, Lalibela, where annual rainfall is lowest (770mm) in comparison to western Chagni where rainfall reaches >1660mm (Bewket and Conway, 2007). Nonetheless, the evidence of water variability and heightened water shortages in the east provide concern for the impact that this will have on women. As I have mentioned in previous posts, women undergo severe physical demand to collect water from far sources. Naturally with drought, these water sources are depleted further which forces women to travel longer distances in the hope to find a reliable source of freshwater, increasing the risk to their physical health, the risk of sexual abuse on the way and the issue of time poverty. Another issue that arises for women consequently from drought is the heightened labour migration that occurs for their male counterparts (Tichagwa, 1994). Men are traditionally the primary breadwinners in the family and drought can lead them to migrate for labour opportunities. If they fail to remit efficiently to their wives at home, it heightens difficult conditions in the household as women lose the ability to supply for their children (Tichagwa, 1994). This is an example of how climate change can indirectly cause social inequality for women.

 Women wading through a flood in Turkana Count, Kenya. Source

Following the discussion in the WHO article, water unreliability and the incidences of flash flooding have been increasing with climate change. In Somalia alone, over 300,000 people have been displaced due to the severe flooding (WHO, 2019). The prevalence of waterborne diseases are similarly increasing, including diarrhoea and cholera. In sub-Saharan Africa between 1990-2010, cholera outbreaks occurred simultaneously with periods of flooding, suggesting a direct link. There were 24 cases of cholera outbreak when flooding occurred – this is not to neglect the impact that severe drought also has on heightening disease (Riekmann et al., 2018). Flash flooding has the ability to cause widespread contamination of freshwater sources through the dispersal of sewage and pollution into existing pipe systems, wells and other water sources (Sun et al., 2016). Whilst cholera and other waterborne diseases threaten all of society, women and young girls are more vulnerable to contracting the illness due to their expected roles in society such as providing care and water collecting and handling (UNICEF, 2010). Hence, the gender discrepancy surrounding water expands during these periods of prevalent disease, such as during periods of drought and flooding, and further suggests that climate change has the potential to cause gender-based societal problems as well as ecological changes. Whilst WHO works on providing short-term relief such as by sending medical supplies to the affected areas to reduce disease spread, there needs to be societal shifts which reduces the demand on women to have unequal direct contact with contaminated water. This could be encouraged through community groups and education on the danger of contaminated water. Furthermore, I believe that women need greater influence in the household decision making as they can be restricted in their ability to purify collected water as they have little say household expenditure. 

My next post will divert back onto the original blog path and I will explore the threat of sexual harassment that persists during water collection journeys. I apologise for the impromptu post, but after stumbling across the WHO article I thought it would be interesting to delve into the potential issues for women arising from climate change. After having done some research into this topic, I may return to a similar theme later on in my blog due to the unpredictable and threatening nature of climate change.