Change in weather and change in temperature, which is otherwise known as climate change, is no longer news in 21st century, especially on how this change is having negative impact on human earth and planet earth. Women and girls face disproportionate impacts from climate change. They are also driving climate solutions at all levels as farmers, workers, consumers, household managers, activists, leaders, and entrepreneurs.

The climate crisis does not affect everyone equally. Women and girls face disproportionate impacts from climate change largely because they make up the majority of the world’s poor, who are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihood.

Particularly in rural areas, women and girls are often responsible for securing food, water, and firewood for their families. During times of drought and erratic rainfall, rural women work harder, walk farther and spend more time securing income and resources for their families. This can also expose them to increased risks of gender-based violence, as climate change exacerbates existing conflicts, inequalities, and vulnerabilities.

When extreme weather disasters strike, women and children are 14 times more likely to die than men, mostly due to limited access to information, limited mobility, decision- making, and resources. An estimated 4 out of 5 people displaced by the impacts of climate change are women and girls. Acute disasters can also disrupt essential services, including sexual and reproductive health care, compounding the negative impacts for women and girls.

Given their position on the frontlines of the climate crisis, women, especially market women which represent over 60% of women, are uniquely situated to be agents of change to help find ways to mitigate the causes of global warming and adapt to its impacts on the ground. This is what inform need for annual gathering of market women in a stakeholders forum with public and private sectors, aim at recommending new solutions to emerging climate change challenges.

Chief Mrs Zainab Ebehireme Ali-Kangiwa Lead Co-Convener