This report, created by Regenerate Africa in collaboration with Population Institute and Panorama Global, presents the results of a review of national and regional climate change action plans, policies, strategies, and financing across sub-Saharan Africa, identifying key issues for the integration of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), voluntary family planning (FP), gender, and related thematic areas such as maternal and newborn health. The study also examined the status of climate finance architecture and the extent to which the intersectionality of gender, health, FP/SRHR, and climate action is financed or otherwise addressed. The regional policies we reviewed include climate action plans and strategies for Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in the sub-Saharan Africa region, such as the East African Community (EAC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
These RECs have made tremendous efforts to strengthen the enabling environment for addressing climate change, aligned with global frameworks. Yet while many policies recognize the gendered impacts of climate change, they fall short of incorporating comprehensive strategies for addressing the interconnected challenges of those impacts on health, gender, and FP/SRHR. Financing is critical to achieving sustainable program delivery, and the funding landscape for implementing climate action in the region shows glaring gaps. For example, there is a noted underestimation of climate finance needs because the regional bodies have not costed all of their sectoral plans.
The need for deliberate and proactive integration of policy and institutional frameworks to effectively address these challenges is urgent. This integration should extend to planning, budgeting, implementation, and monitoring processes supported by collaborative institutional arrangements. The proposed solution involves building institutional collaboration, capacity development, and financing mechanisms to foster a unified and resilient approach across the sub-Saharan Africa region.