Online Reporter
Moses Magadza in JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
PARTICIPANTS at a capacity-building workshop underway here have warned that worsening climate shocks are undermining healthcare systems across Southern Africa, with women, adolescents and vulnerable groups bearing the brunt.
The SADC Parliamentary Forum, with support of Sweden, convened the workshop, which began on Monday.
Through interactive group discussions, delegates examined how droughts, floods and heatwaves are disrupting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) service delivery and reviewed the extent to which national climate frameworks integrate health,
gender and SRHR.
Their feedback revealed fragile health systems under pressure, weak policy integration and the urgent need for parliamentary oversight.
One group focusing on drought identified three major threats — budgets that were being diverted away from SRHR to food relief, leaving communities without essential services; water scarcity that compromises hygiene in clinics, undermining the sterilisation of
medical equipment and increasing the risk of infection; as well as extreme heat, which hampers patient mobility and medicine storage, limiting access and reducing the effectiveness of vaccines and drugs.
“These combined pressures not only weaken health facilities but also deepen inequalities for women and girls,” one of the rapporteurs noted.
Delegates also pointed to rising social and health risks during climate-related disasters.
They said women and girls fetching water face heightened exposure to gender-based violence (GBV), while displacement and loss of livelihoods are fuelling early marriages and transactional sex, leading to unintended pregnancies.
For expectant mothers, food insecurity and disrupted health services increase the likelihood of low birth weight and maternal mortality.
Blackouts caused by reduced hydropower supply further endanger mothers and newborns during delivery.
The group lamented data gaps caused by shifting budgets and migration, which complicate population statistics and routine reporting.
“Without reliable data, governments cannot fully understand the scale of SRHR needs in emergencies,” the rapporteur warned.
Despite the challenges, countries are finding ways to adapt.
Examples include mobile clinics for displaced communities, ring-fenced disaster risk reduction funds, solar-powered facilities, early warning systems and public education campaigns.
These innovations, participants said, are helping ensure continuity of SRHR services when disasters strike.
A second group reviewed Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).
“Without clear SRHR commitments, budget lines or coordination mechanisms, vulnerable groups will continue to fall through the cracks during climate crises,” a rapporteur concluded.
Case studies from Mauritius, Mozambique, Madagascar, Malawi and the DRC showed that cyclones and floods have destroyed clinics, displaced families and driven girls out of school, exposing them to early marriages and GBV.
Delegates urged governments to amend climate frameworks to explicitly include SRHR, backed by measurable indicators and dedicated financing.
They encouraged parliamentarians to question ministries on how climate funds are supporting SRHR-responsive services and to insist that adaptation projects include gender analysis, partnerships with SRHR organisations and measures to address GBV.
