ODA financing the climate–gender–disability interface: Key facts

This factsheet analyses recent official development assistance (ODA) to African countries as well as national budgets from select eastern African countries to assess the financing landscape of the intersections between:

• climate change adaptation and mitigation,
• inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities, and
• gender equality.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its Sixth Assessment (2022) reported, with high confidence, that the compounded vulnerability of the intersection of gender with disability to climate change impacts exacerbates inequity and injustice.

Addressing these overlapping challenges is not only essential for achieving equitable outcomes, but it also demands urgent, targeted action that explicitly recognises the intersection of gender, disability and climate vulnerabilities. Recognising this intersectionality is crucial for developing finance mechanisms that meaningfully support those most at risk.

However, our analysis finds that, between 2018 and 2022, funding targeted at climate, gender and disability in Africa came from just seven donors, and is incredibly low – only US$3.70 million out of US$355 billion (approximately 0.001%); and of total principal climate, disability, and/or gender financing (US$44.8 billion) only 0.01% targeted the interface of the three issues. Financing was also concentrated in few countries – more than half (55.3%) of this US$3.7 million went to five countries.

Looking at the interfaces between just two of the three issues reveals that the gender–climate interface received relatively better financing volume and an increasing overall trend in funding compared to those addressing the disability–climate interface. This underscores the need for sustained advocacy to tackle the disproportionate impact of climate change on people with disabilities. Additionally, we find that disability, whether linked with gender or climate, continues to receive inconsistent funding, further emphasising the need for a concerted effort to secure better financial support.

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Read more analysis from DI on

• Climate
• Disability
• Gender

Africa experienced significant impacts from disasters due to natural hazards between 2018 and 2022, and many of the extreme weather events and epidemics during that period can be linked to climatic and environmental factors. ^[1] According to EM-DAT data, ^[2] in Africa, over those years, over 210 million people were affected, largely due to droughts (82%) and floods (13%); 640 thousand were injured (97% by epidemics); and 29 thousand people lost their life (63% due to epidemics, 19% due to floods).

Among the most affected are women, who are disproportionately impacted by climate change due to their generally higher dependence on less adaptable livelihoods and limited control over financial and personal decisions. Their vulnerability is further compounded by structural inequalities such as lower average educational attainment and concentration in the informal sector. ^[3]

Additionally, women and girls with disabilities face even greater challenges. Women experience higher rates of disability than men, ^[4] and as recognised by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), they are subject to multiple forms of discrimination. ^[5] This intersection of gender and disability magnifies their vulnerability to climate impacts, highlighting the urgent need for policies and financing mechanisms that address the specific needs of women and girls with disabilities in the face of climate-related disasters. ^[6]

The intersection of gender and disability is critical in understanding the unequal impacts of climate change. The IPCC’s latest report, the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) (2022) establishes the unequal impacts of climate change. ^[7] It highlights, that climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable groups, with gender and disability intersectionality exacerbating inequity and injustice. The report emphasises that gender, physical ability and other factors significantly influence how individuals experience climate-induced changes, reinforcing the need for appropriate adaptation strategies.

One of the manifestations of this inequality is climate-induced migration. Population displacement is one of the major impacts of extreme weather and climate events. In 2022 alone, drought in the Horn of Africa (the worst in four decades) displaced 2.4 million people, ^[8] while a series of tropical cyclones and storms in southern Africa forced over a million to relocate. ^[9]

While migration can be an adaptation strategy to climate change, it is not accessible to everyone. ^[10] Not everyone is equally able to move before and during crises due to existing marginalisation and discrimination: characteristics such as gender and disability can create barriers to mobility. Additional challenges, such as lack of resources, accessibility issues, cultural and social barriers and entrenched discrimination, leave many unable to seek refuge or adapt effectively during crises.

For example, a study on the impacts of floods from Cyclone Freddy (2023), Tropical Storm Ana (2022) and Cyclone Idai (2019) on women and girls with disabilities in districts in Malawi found they experienced challenges accessing emergency services, inadequate needs support, physical challenges, lack of awareness of the approaching cyclone or disaster, overwhelmed services and resource constraints. ^[11]

Financing the interface of climate–gender–disability is not only about addressing emergencies, it is also about empowering women and girls with disabilities as frontline leaders, as recognised by the Sendai Framework: ^[12]

In this factsheet, we explore how much ODA financing is allocated to the interface of climate, gender and disability across regions. We examine the types of financial instruments used, the donors involved, and the recipients of this targeted funding in Africa.

Africa received total ODA of US$355 billion between 2018 and 2022, but only US$3.70 million targeted at the climate–disability–gender interface – approximately 0.001%. Based on budget data provided by three countries in eastern Africa, our national-level analysis reveals that no funding at all was targeted at this climate–gender–disability interface.

This factsheet aims to draw the attention of donors and African domestic policymakers to the need to provide improved level of funding that address the three risk factors all together, so that women and girls with disability, who are already disproportionately impacted by climate change, will receive the necessary support to build resilience and become empowered leaders in addressing climate risks. The paper concludes with key messages for donors and domestic policymakers.