Access to finance ‘strengthens climate resilience’ among sub-Saharan women

Empowering women through greater access to finance could “strengthen” households’ resilience to “climate shocks”, according to a new study .

Published in Climate Risk Management, it analyses the impact of financial access on “women-headed households” in sub-Saharan Africa.

The study finds that where women had formal financial access – such as through owning a bank account – households were more able to withstand short-term shocks.

It adds that “climate shocks”, such as extreme weather events and the impacts of climate change, can cause economic crises, which destabilise communities and households.

However, the authors say that in order to protect households from long-term climate vulnerabilities – including “droughts, floods and sea-level rise” – financial access would need to be paired with wider efforts to tackle gender inequality.

They add that the findings could have important implications for policy in sub-Saharan Africa, where many countries and households are vulnerable to climate disasters.