On World Contraception Day and on the sidelines of UNGA79 and Climate Week 2024,

Panorama Global, Population Council, Global Climate and Health Alliance, and Global Health Council hosted, "The Missing Link for Sustainable Futures: Gender-Responsive Climate Policies." More than 80 attendees engaged in a dynamic dialogue on solutions to the climate crisis’ devastating impact on gender equality and health equity goals. The event featured a panel discussion followed by a networking reception and opportunity for participants to reflect on and surface key challenges as well as opportunities for collaboration.

‍

The event began with a thought-provoking conversation among a panel of policymakers, funders, researchers, and civil society stakeholders. Attendees listened to insights from experts including:

• Ms. Jeni Miller, Executive Director Global Climate and Health Alliance
• Ms. Deepshikha Sharma, Director of Climate Sciences at Population Council
• Dr. Agnes Chimbiri, Malawi Ambassador to the UN
• Ms. Theo Gibbs, Technical Director, Climate, USA at YLabs
• Mr. Alan Jarandilla-Nuñez, Director of Policy and Advocacy, International Youth Alliance for Family Planning (IYAFP)
• Ms. Line Friberg Nielsen, Chief Technical Advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
• Mrs. Monica Schagen, Counselor for Health and Sport to the United States and Canada at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the USA

Dr. Rana Hajjeh, the newly appointed Population Council President, opened the discussion with excitement about bringing together climate and health advocates. Panelists expressed optimism that climate and health are finally linked, noting recent national commitments to more urgently address this intersection in programs, policies, and plans.

The discussion centered on maintaining this momentum by advocating for gender mainstreaming into climate policies and financing negotiations. Speakers called for continued support at the country level to incorporate sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and gender budget lines into disaster preparedness and climate adaptation plans. This solution is one way to prevent backsliding SDGs 3 and 5, focused on health and gender equality, respectively.

Highlights from the panel

• Global Health Council’s Jeni Miller emphasized the importance of linking climate change, gender, and SRHR at key advocacy events to ensure this intersection remains a global priority.
• Ms. Deepshika Sharma called for addressing the impact of climate in forced migrations, pointing toward recent floods in Pakistan as an example of climate change interrupting essential healthcare services. 
• Dr. Agnes Chimbiri, Malawi Ambassador to the UN, discussed Malawi’s policy progress in linking climate and SRHR at the individual, policy, and institutional levels in Malawi, and the importance of recognizing climate change as a considerable threat to family planning and gender equality. 
• IYAFP’s Alan Jarandilla-Nuñez described how the Youth Declaration on SRHR and Climate Justice is a powerful advocacy and messaging tool across youth movements, and encouraged attendees to leverage it. 
• Ms. Line Friberg Nielson, from the Danish government, shared the informative desk reviews focused on the intersection of climate change, education, gender equality, and sexual and reproductive health (SRHR).
• Theo Gibbs from YLabs highlighted the recently re-launched ClimatexSRHR resource hub featuring updated resources and tools.
• Ms. Monica Schagen, from the Dutch government, shared the successes of integrating climate change and health in the government agenda.

Watch the recording of the panel discussion.

Panelists unanimously agreed that generating new evidence at the nexus of climate change and SRHR is critical to maintaining momentum while also emphasizing that the existing evidence is sufficient to take action now. It’s clear that working across sectors to support movement-building and amplifying community voices—particularly women—who are most affected by climate change builds resilience and health equity.

Opportunities, Challenges, and Renewed Collaboration at the Climate x SRHR Nexus

Following the panel discussion, attendees reflected on three questions related to their experience working at the intersection of climate and sexual and reproductive health and rights, the challenges, and the opportunities for collaboration to drive greater visibility to organizations working at this intersection.

Over refreshments, attendees from the gender, climate, health, and development sectors networked and exchanged ideas on ways to better collaborate across sectors. By the end of the event, participants had listed out pain points, new ideas, and upcoming opportunities for collaboration and advocacy on sticky notes around the room.

The activity revealed key challenges to working at the intersection of climate, gender, and health, including:

• Limited healthcare access during climate disasters and displacement
• Insufficient funding for grassroots organizations engaged in advocacy
• Coordination difficulties, even at the highest levels such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
• Siloed work and competition over limited resources, including funding

Despite these obstacles, the event showcased several upcoming advocacy opportunities, including COP29 and COP30, Beijing+30, the Skoll World Forum, World Health Assembly, World Health Summit, and the International Conference on Family Planning 2025.

Now, more than ever, donors are urged to mobilize resources swiftly to support this critical work.

Learn more about climate, gender, and health  

If you are interested in becoming a champion of climate, gender, and health, below are a few resources the panelists highlighted:

• IYAFP Youth Declaration
• YLabs Climate x SRHR Evidence and Action Hub
• Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs desk reviews of climate change, education, and gender equality
• World Health Organization's Malawi case study on climate change and health

‍

We extend our thanks to the expert panelists for sharing their insights and for their continued work championing this critical intersection.

‍

For more information about Panorama Global’s work at the nexus of climate and SRHR, please reach out to Riley Glandon-Shetty, Director of Social Impact.