A landmark UNFPA assessment is prompting fresh calls for urgent investment in gender-responsive climate solutions after finding that climate change is directly fuelling gender-based violence, child marriage and child labour in South Sudan’s hardest-hit areas.
Surveying communities in Malakal, Rubkona and Kapoeta South, the study shows droughts and floods are shutting down health facilities, cutting supply chains and forcing families into desperate coping strategies — from marrying off daughters for food or cattle to pushing boys into hazardous work.
But the report does more than sound the alarm. It lays out a roadmap of practical interventions already being piloted with support from Japan, the Africa Climate Change Fund and the African Development Bank: mobile maternity units for women stranded by floods, heat-resistant clinics and supply chains, stronger legal protection against gender-based violence, safer displacement camps through lighting and patrols, and alternative livelihoods to reduce child marriage and labour.
UNFPA Representative a.i. Innocent Modisaotsile says the findings give policymakers and donors a clear brief ahead of COP30 in Brasilia: “With climate-resilient health systems, GBV protection and women’s economic empowerment, we can break this cycle and build resilience for the future.”
The report also highlights a gap between South Sudan’s target of 35 percent gender inclusion in climate policy and the reality on the ground, calling for women to be given a seat at every decision-making table.
By framing solutions as well as risks, the UNFPA assessment positions South Sudan as a test case for how gender-responsive climate action can protect rights, save lives and empower communities — if international financing meets the scale of the challenge.
