In Southern Africa, the consequences of climate change have brought to the forefront critical issues surrounding hunger, significantly affecting the lives and rights of women and girls. This region, like many others across the African continent, is grappling with the pervasive effects of climate change, characterized by rising temperatures, erratic flooding, and prolonged periods of drought. These climatic shifts contribute to acute water scarcity, pest outbreaks, and devastating losses in both crop yields and livestock populations. The cumulative effect of these factors manifests as food insecurity, culminating in recurrent regional hunger crises.
The year 2024 marked a turning point for Southern Africa, as it suffered from its most severe drought in over a century, a situation exacerbated by an unprecedented El Niño weather pattern. This phenomenon drastically diminished rainfall and triggered record-high temperatures throughout the region. Although El Niño conditions intensified the short-term effects of drought, the long-standing impacts of climate change had been steadily eroding the foundation of agricultural productivity in Southern Africa, magnifying the scale of losses experienced.
The repercussions of this extreme drought were dire, resulting in widespread crop failures that crippled agricultural output in a region where an astonishing 70% of the population depends on farming for their livelihoods. Consequently, a severe hunger crisis emerged, with estimates from the Southern African Development Community indicating that at least 61 million people—approximately 17% of the region’s total population—required humanitarian aid as a direct result of the drought and the subsequent destruction of crops.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of September 2024, a staggering 20 million people were facing crisis levels of hunger. Among them, over 1.1 million children under the age of five were suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a condition that poses grave risks to their health and development. Scholars and climate scientists caution that the pattern of droughts in Southern Africa is expected to escalate in severity in the coming years, presenting a looming crisis that could have devastating implications for food security.
For women and girls, who traditionally bear the responsibility of collecting water for their households, the drought brought unprecedented challenges. As water sources dwindled, they often found themselves forced to navigate increasingly longer distances in search of sufficient water. This arduous task not only consumes their time but also disrupts their educational opportunities, as many girls are compelled to forgo schooling to assist their families. Furthermore, the physical dangers associated with long journeys for water, including the heightened risk of gender-based violence, become even more pronounced, especially in contexts where families are displaced due to deteriorating environmental conditions.
These impacts are not accidental, they are the consequences of climate change acting on existing social inequalities. And they are projected to worsen. Climate scientists warn that droughts in Southern Africa will grow more frequent and severe, particularly in areas already marked by poverty and limited infrastructure.
In response to worsening climate harms across the continent, more than 50 civil society organizations have come together to form the African Climate Platform (ACP). This coalition is petitioning the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights for an advisory opinion that would clarify what African states are legally obligated to do under human rights law when facing climate-driven crises
Southern Africa’s experience offers critical evidence. The region shows how the climate crisis threatens multiple rights at once—to food, water, education, safety, and dignity. For women and girls, it also strips away access to opportunity, security, and bodily autonomy.
Through its petition, ACP is asking the Court to affirm that when climate inaction leads to hunger, displacement, and harm, it is not just a policy failure, it is a violation of human rights, and one that must be addressed through enforceable legal standards.