In refugee and host communities, climate change affects everyone, but it does not affect everyone equally. Women and girls often carry the heaviest burden when food, water, firewood, and household income become harder to secure.
Environmental degradation and resource scarcity can increase the distance women and girls travel for firewood and water. This creates safety risks, limits time for education and economic activities, and increases pressure on families already facing difficult living conditions.
At the same time, women are powerful agents of change. They are farmers, caregivers, organizers, community leaders, educators, and innovators. When women are supported with skills, resources, safe spaces, and opportunities to participate in decision-making, the whole community becomes stronger.
Hope in the Heat Initiative places women and children at the center of every solution. This means promoting women’s leadership, economic empowerment, gender justice, protection, and meaningful participation in climate and livelihood programming.
Climate action that ignores women’s realities will always be incomplete. But climate action led by women can restore dignity, strengthen households, protect children, and build more resilient communities.