Women, girls bear the brunt of climate crisis
- 60% girls lack access to
menstrual health products
- 2.5% households have access to
sexual, reproductive health services
- Unsafe drinking water affects
72% households
- Early marriage, gender-based
violence rise during climate crisis
Climate
emergencies are hitting girls, women, and marginalised communities hardest in
Khulna and Satkhira, a new study has revealed.
Over 60
percent of adolescent girls struggle to access menstrual health products, while
only 2.5 percent of households have consistent access to comprehensive sexual
and reproductive health services during disasters.
The
research also highlighted a worrying rise in early marriage and gender-based
violence, with 78 percent of women reporting increased risks during climate
crises.
The
findings of the study, titled "Understanding SRHR, WASH, and Livelihoods
Situations and Pathways Forward in Climate-Vulnerable Locations of Southwest
Bangladesh", were shared at a national dissemination workshop organised by
Plan International Bangladesh at a city hotel yesterday.
Unsafe
drinking water remains a major concern, with 72 percent of households depending
on saline-contaminated sources. Women and girls, in particular, bear the burden
of long and unsafe journeys to collect water, the study said.
Sanitation
facilities are also inadequate, with only 24.8 percent of households having
access to improved facilities, further complicating menstrual hygiene
management during emergencies.
Girls'
education is being disrupted, as many are forced to spend hours fetching water
or struggle with a lack of menstrual hygiene support, affecting their future
opportunities.
Livelihoods
in the region are under severe strain, with over 80 percent of households
reporting income losses due to crop failure, aquaculture damage, and limited
job opportunities. With scarce local employment, many young people are being
forced into risky migration to urban areas.
The study
recommended several measures, including ensuring emergency-ready sexual and
reproductive health services, training health workers and youth volunteers,
establishing safe spaces for girls and women, and integrating menstrual health
into school disaster-preparedness plans.
It also
advised expanding rainwater harvesting, supporting women-led desalination
projects, forming gender-balanced water user groups, and providing affordable
reusable sanitary products through school-based social enterprises.
The study
further called for climate-smart agriculture and eco-aquaculture training,
linking women and youth producers to green supply chains, and ensuring their
inclusion in government safety-net programmes through advocacy and digital
platforms.
At the
event, Mohammad Navid Safiullah, additional secretary of the environment
ministry, said, "Climate change is not just an environmental challenge; it
is a profound human development crisis. The findings highlight interlinked
vulnerabilities across reproductive health and rights, WASH, and livelihoods,
placing women, youth, and marginalised communities at greatest risk."
Dr Ashrafi
Ahmad, director general of the Directorate General of Family Planning, said,
"The impacts of climate change are also a public health and human rights
crisis. Our health and family planning systems must be climate- and
gender-sensitive."
Nayoka
Martinez-Backstrom, first secretary and deputy head of development cooperation
at the Embassy of Sweden, said, "Southwestern Bangladesh is highly
vulnerable. Studies like this guide systematic change, but we need support from
local governments, policymakers and youth to deliver real solutions."
The
workshop also marked the launch of Plan International Bangladesh's DURBAR
Programme, a flagship initiative promoting climate justice and gender equality
in coastal areas.
















