Climate Change and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights: Exploring the Linkages

Although there are considerable gaps in research and evidence linking climate change and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), it is clear that climate change, its impacts, and subsequent efforts to address them have negative effects on SRHR, both directly and indirectly. These negative impacts are most keenly felt by girls and women, as well as individuals who already face multiple barriers to realizing their SRHR. Specifically, adolescents, sex workers, people living with disabilities, and those with underrepresented sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) encounter significant barriers in accessing SRHR information and services, including in humanitarian settings.

To tackle this issue, BALSDA developed a policy brief to urge the government to integrate SRHR into Nigeria’s climate change policy and plans. The aim was to bring about policy changes that would benefit women, girls, and individuals facing multiple barriers in realizing their SRHR.