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Linking Gender to Climate Change Impacts in the Global South

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Abstract

This chapter examines the impacts of climate change on the health of women and girls in the Global South. There is increasing understanding and awareness about the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on communicable and non-communicable diseases. These impacts are not gender neutral. Specifically, in the Global South, the impacts are disproportionately greater on women’s health than men, due to combination of existing health infrastructure, lack of women’s empowerment, and cultural norms. It is noteworthy that indicators for women’s health should not be limited to only reproductive or maternal health but should include the entire lifespan to address the needs of girls and older women. For instance, in the majority of the rural areas of the Global South, the poorer households do not have piped water supply. In these areas women are responsible for walking long distances to fetch water for the daily needs of their families. The increasing trends in daytime temperatures will expose them to harsher conditions. Furthermore, the projected expansion in the geographic spread of infectious diseases will disproportionately affect women and girls due to higher levels of malnutrition.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Zhou et al. (2004).

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  1. Department of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    Shouraseni Sen Roy

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Sen Roy, S. (2018). Health. In: Linking Gender to Climate Change Impacts in the Global South. Springer Climate. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75777-3_3

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