22/09/2026
CLIMATE JUSTICE MUST LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND
As part of the Global Week of Climate Action 2026, our executive director Susan Kelechi joined other stakeholders to lend her voice to an issue that is often missing from climate conversations, the intersection of climate change, gender and disability.
Climate change does not affect everyone in the same way.
For women and girls with disabilities, whether in urban centres or rural communities, climate emergencies can deepen existing inequalities. From inaccessible early-warning systems and evacuation centres to unsafe roads, transportation challenges, inaccessible toilets, healthcare and loss of livelihoods, the barriers are often multiplied when climate disasters strike.
In rural communities, these challenges can be even more pronounced, with limited access to information, healthcare, transportation, social protection and emergency response.
In our cities, infrastructure may exist, but if it is not accessible, it still leaves people behind.
This is why climate justice must include gender justice and disability inclusion.
Women with disabilities should not be seen merely as recipients of climate action.
We are part of the solution.
Our voices, lived experiences and leadership must inform climate policies, preparedness, adaptation, financing and decision-making from the community level to the highest levels of government.
Whether a woman lives in an urban centre or a rural community, her safety, dignity and right to participate must matter.
Climate action must be inclusive.
Climate finance must reach communities and climate justice must be for everyone.
