EVALUATING THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL WARMING IN AFRICAN WOMEN

By Eyesiere-Hope Essien

Global warming is significantly impacting developing countries and the effects are far-reaching which is having a devastating impact on African women and their communities, leading to adverse social and economic consequences. Climate change has resulted in an increase in temperature, more extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and a decrease in water availability. As a result, African women are facing a growing number of challenges related to food insecurity, water scarcity, and healthcare access. They are at greater risk of poverty, displacement, and exploitation. These issues can be further exacerbated by a lack of access to education and employment opportunities. It is essential to understand the nature of these impacts and to take action to mitigate them and ensure African women have the resources and skills to adapt to the changing environment.

This article will point out what other writers have said, social and economic impact of global warming, with a particular focus on developing countries. It will identify how global warming affects access to food, water, and healthcare, as well as the potential for increased poverty and displacement. It will also consider the potential for increased violence, exploitation, and the lack of access to education and employment opportunities and exploring measures that can be taken to mitigate the impacts of global warming helping African women adapt to the changing environment.

What others are saying?

Recent literature has highlighted the impacts of global warming on African women, particularly in terms of social and economic consequences. For instance, studies have shown that rising temperatures have led to a decrease in crop yields and an increase in food insecurity and this has been further compounded by water scarcity, which has resulted in an increased burden of collecting and carrying water for domestic use. Climate change has created additional strain on healthcare access, leading to an overall decrease in quality of life. Moreover, African women are more vulnerable to poverty and displacement due to the lack of access to education and employment opportunities. It is clear that climate change is having a profound effect on African women and their communities, and urgent action is needed to address these issues.

Florent Baarsch and Michiel Schaeffer(2019) says that African countries will be severely hit by climate change and weather extremes. Stringent mitigation action would mean that, from as early as 2030, African regions would start experiencing reduced macroeconomic losses. This adds to the recent IPCC Special Report on 1.5°C (SR15), which noted “climaterelated risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth are projected to increase with global warming of 1.5°C and increase further with 2°C”, while regions at dis proportionally higher risk include small island developing states and least developed countries. Notably, limiting global warming to 1.5°C, compared with 2°C, could reduce the number of people both expoup to several hundred million by 2050. Overall, the SR15 concludes that risks to global aggregated economic growth due to climate change impacts are projected to be lower at 1.5°C than at 2°C by the end of this century. Countries in the tropics and Southern Hemisphere subtropics are projected to experience the largest impacts on economic growth due to climate change should global warming increase from 1.5°C to 2°C. According to the IPCC,Africa has been identified as a climate-change hotspot, with climate change likely to lessen crop yields and production, with resultant impacts on food security.

The Social and Economic impact of Global Warming in Africa

Climate change is already having serious impacts across African women. Africa is particularly susceptible to climate change because it includes some of the world’s poorest nations. Its populations are also growing quickly, and natural resources are being lost through environmental degradation. Millions of Africans are already feeling the impacts of climate change. This is resulting in significant economic and human losses and hindering efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Poverty and a low capacity to adapt to a changed climate are exacerbated by rises in the sea level and temperature. Increasingly variable seasons, rainfall, drought, and weather extremes are also problematic.There are currently very few regional and sub-regional climate change scenarios based on climate modelling for Africa. This is largely due to a lack of facilities and human resources to collect and process climate data. However, available information suggests that accelerated changes in the climate are expected to lead to potentially large impacts across the continent in the future.

How Global Warming Affects Access to Food, Water, Healthcare, Poverty and Displacement for African Women

Global warming is having a devastating effect on access to food, water, healthcare, poverty, and displacement for African women. With rising temperatures, drought and desertification are becoming more frequent, leading to crop failure and reduced access to food and water. Extreme weather events, such as floods and hurricanes, can cause great destruction, leading to loss of livelihoods, displacement, and poverty. For African women, these effects are compounded by gender inequality, limiting their access to resources and leaving them more vulnerable to climate change. Women are more likely to be engaged in agricultural production and subsistence farming, making them particularly vulnerable to swings in food availability and price. Also, women often lack access to health care and education, leaving them ill-equipped to cope with the effects of climate change. Displacement due to climate change-related disasters is also a major factor in the decline of well-being among African women. Their homes become uninhabitable and they are forced to flee, they are also subject to increased risk of exploitation, violence, and poverty. Global warming is having a devastating effect on access to food, water, healthcare, poverty, and displacement for African women, and their vulnerability to its effects is only increased due to gender inequality. To mitigate these devastating effects, it is essential to invest in gender- sensitive policies and programs that promote equitable access to resources and address the underlying causes of gender inequality. This will help ensure that African women are able to access the resources they need to survive and thrive in the face of climate change.

Climate change is having a particularly devastating effect on developing countries, leading to increased violence, exploitation, and lack of access to education and employment opportunities. Extreme weather events, such as floods and hurricanes, can cause great destruction, leading to loss of livelihoods, displacement, and poverty. Drought and desertification are becoming more frequent, leading to crop failure and reduced access to food and water. Global warming is impacting traditional livelihoods and sources of income, such as fishing or subsistence farming, making it difficult for African women to sustain themselves and their families. They are also subject to increased risk of exploitation, violence, and poverty. Developing countries are particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming, as they often lack the resources and infrastructure to effectively cope with natural disasters or to build resilience to extreme weather events. Furthermore, they are also more likely to be affected by global inequality, with limited access to resources and limited opportunities for economic growth. This makes it even more difficult for them to address the effects of climate change and to mitigate the increased violence, exploitation, and lack of access to education and employment opportunities that it is causing.

Measures Taken to Mitigate the Impacts of Global Warming

Helping African Women Adapt to the Changing Environment.

1. Invest in gender-sensitive policies and programs that promote equitable access to resources and address the underlying causes of gender inequality.

2. Increase access to education and training for African women so they can better prepare for and cope with the effects of climate change.

3. Promote access to economic opportunities, such as micro-loans, to help African women build sustainable livelihoods and become more resilient to the effects of climate change.

4. Support adaptation strategies such as early warning systems, crop diversification, and improved water management to help African women cope with the effects of climate change.

5. Invest in infrastructure and technology to help African women access clean water, sanitation, and other essential services.

6. Increase access to health care and social services to help African women cope with the psychological and physical effects of climate change.

7. Provide support and resources to help African women who have been displaced by climate change-related disasters.

In conclusion, for us not to lose our African woman the effects of global warming have been devastating which leads to decreased access to food, water, healthcare, and economic opportunities, as well as increased poverty, displacement, and violence. To mitigate these effects, it is essential to invest in gender-sensitive policies and programs that promote equitable access to resources and address the underlying causes of gender inequality. Also, it is important to provide African women with access to economic opportunities, education and training, and resources to help them build sustainable livelihoods and become more resilient to the effects of global warming. Ultimately, only by addressing both the social and economic consequences of global warming can African women hope to survive and thrive in the face of the changing environment.

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