Making climate change adaptation programmes in sub-Saharan Africa more gender responsive: insights from implementing organizations on the barriers and opportunities

Abstract

Research shows that paying attention to gender matters not only for the equity of climate change adaptation programmes, but also for their efficiency and effectiveness. Many organizations working to increase resilience to climate change with local communities also recognize the importance of gender, yet the degree to which gender is actually integrated in climate change projects is unclear. This study examines the extent to which organizations involved in climate change and resilience work in sub-Saharan Africa are integrating research on gender and climate change and incorporating gender-sensitive approaches into their programmes using data collected through a knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey and key informant interviews targeted at government agencies, local and international NGOs, and other practitioners. The results show that although organizations have access to research on climate change from various sources, more is needed to identify entry points for gender integration into climate change adaptation programmes across a range of local contexts. Lack of staff capacity on gender, lack of funding to support gender integration, and socio-cultural constraints were identified as key barriers to gender integration by many respondents, particularly from government agencies. Enabling organizations to pay greater attention to the gender dimensions of their programmes is possible through greater collaboration across different types of organizations in order to share knowledge and best practices and strengthen the integration of research into adaptation programmes.