Zimbabwe: Without Action, Climate Change Could Push Women Further Behind By 2050, CGIAR Warns

What the report says

A CGIAR gender report says climate change and economic disruption could leave women further behind in food, land and water systems by 2050 if governments do not take deliberate action. The warning was reported by Inter Press Service from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and comes as COP31 is underway in Antalya, Türkiye. The report argues that drought, water scarcity and related shocks are already affecting women differently because they often carry the burden of water collection and face added barriers to work, schooling and income generation.

The article uses the experience of Zimbabwean farmer Nomuhle SibandaMpofu, from Inyathi village in Bubi District, as an example. She described spending hours fetching water for her household, crops and livestock before drilling a borehole at her homestead. She later added a 5,000-litre tank and, with support from ICRISAT, adopted a soil-moisture tool that helped her reduce irrigation and save water. Her case illustrates how closer water access and better irrigation methods can reduce labor and improve resilience.

CGIAR researchers say the risks are likely to grow as the El Niño pattern raises fears of drought in Southern Africa. The report recommends policy and institutional reforms, better infrastructure, social protection, improved data and responsible technology use to narrow gender gaps. It also notes that women are central to building more resilient food systems, but that progress depends on choices made now.