Policy Brief: Women at the Center of Climate Resilience:. Gender-Responsive Weather and Climate Information Services (WCIS) for East Africa
Significant gender disparities in access to and use of Weather and Climate Information Services (WCIS) must be addressed to ensure inclusive climate risk management. Policies and programs should intentionally integrate the voices of women, youth, refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), an...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
2026
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179923 |
| _version_ | 1855529418767728640 |
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| author | Nchanji, Eileen Bogweh Ouya, Frederick Ochieng Lutomia, Cosmas Kweyu Mvuyibwami, Patrick Byandaga, Livingstone Kagabo, Desire |
| author_browse | Byandaga, Livingstone Kagabo, Desire Lutomia, Cosmas Kweyu Mvuyibwami, Patrick Nchanji, Eileen Bogweh Ouya, Frederick Ochieng |
| author_facet | Nchanji, Eileen Bogweh Ouya, Frederick Ochieng Lutomia, Cosmas Kweyu Mvuyibwami, Patrick Byandaga, Livingstone Kagabo, Desire |
| author_sort | Nchanji, Eileen Bogweh |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Significant gender disparities in access to and use of Weather and Climate Information Services (WCIS) must be
addressed to ensure inclusive climate risk management. Policies and programs should intentionally integrate the
voices of women, youth, refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and persons living with disabilities (PLWDs).
Expanding co-design and co-production of WCIS across East Africa is essential to deliver timely, relevant, and
actionable information.
Evidence from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda demonstrates that WCIS delivers tangible results. Between
38–49% of farmers reported bean yield increases of 0.2–0.3 t/ha, while 31–45% experienced smaller gains of up
to 0.1 t/ha. Additionally, 30–33% of farmers avoided seasonal losses of up to USD 30, and 33–71% avoided losses
of up to USD 100, thanks to impact-based early warning systems. However, these benefits are not reaching ev
eryone equally. Women, youth, persons with disabilities, refugees, and internally displaced persons face barriers
in access, voice, and decision-making power. Men dominate formal WCIS channels, while women often rely on
informal networks and are restricted from acting on information even when they receive it.
These disparities are driven largely by restrictive socio-cultural norms that limit access to agro-weather technol
ogies and exclude women and other vulnerable groups from household and community decision-making. As
these groups are highly dependent on climate-sensitive agriculture, they face disproportionate livelihood risks
from climate variability and extremes.
This brief presents key messages and policy options to close gender gaps and promote inclusive WCIS and stron
ger policy frameworks. Strengthening inclusive access to accurate and timely weather and climate information
will improve risk management, enhance adaptive capacity, and support productivity gains in the agriculture sec
tor. The evidence is clear: when climate information is co-produced with communities, localised, and designed
with gender inclusion, adoption increases, losses decline, and resilience strengthens. This brief outline priority
actions for governments and development partners to scale proven models, mobilize finance, institutionalize
co-production, and close the digital and gender divide in climate services. |
| format | Brief |
| id | CGSpace179923 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1799232026-01-16T02:09:31Z Policy Brief: Women at the Center of Climate Resilience:. Gender-Responsive Weather and Climate Information Services (WCIS) for East Africa Nchanji, Eileen Bogweh Ouya, Frederick Ochieng Lutomia, Cosmas Kweyu Mvuyibwami, Patrick Byandaga, Livingstone Kagabo, Desire climate change adaptation empowerment resilience gender analysis income generation Significant gender disparities in access to and use of Weather and Climate Information Services (WCIS) must be addressed to ensure inclusive climate risk management. Policies and programs should intentionally integrate the voices of women, youth, refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and persons living with disabilities (PLWDs). Expanding co-design and co-production of WCIS across East Africa is essential to deliver timely, relevant, and actionable information. Evidence from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda demonstrates that WCIS delivers tangible results. Between 38–49% of farmers reported bean yield increases of 0.2–0.3 t/ha, while 31–45% experienced smaller gains of up to 0.1 t/ha. Additionally, 30–33% of farmers avoided seasonal losses of up to USD 30, and 33–71% avoided losses of up to USD 100, thanks to impact-based early warning systems. However, these benefits are not reaching ev eryone equally. Women, youth, persons with disabilities, refugees, and internally displaced persons face barriers in access, voice, and decision-making power. Men dominate formal WCIS channels, while women often rely on informal networks and are restricted from acting on information even when they receive it. These disparities are driven largely by restrictive socio-cultural norms that limit access to agro-weather technol ogies and exclude women and other vulnerable groups from household and community decision-making. As these groups are highly dependent on climate-sensitive agriculture, they face disproportionate livelihood risks from climate variability and extremes. This brief presents key messages and policy options to close gender gaps and promote inclusive WCIS and stron ger policy frameworks. Strengthening inclusive access to accurate and timely weather and climate information will improve risk management, enhance adaptive capacity, and support productivity gains in the agriculture sec tor. The evidence is clear: when climate information is co-produced with communities, localised, and designed with gender inclusion, adoption increases, losses decline, and resilience strengthens. This brief outline priority actions for governments and development partners to scale proven models, mobilize finance, institutionalize co-production, and close the digital and gender divide in climate services. 2026 2026-01-15T16:50:20Z 2026-01-15T16:50:20Z Brief https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179923 en Open Access application/pdf Nchanji, E.B.; Ouya, F.O..; Lutomia, C.K.; Mvuyibwami, P.; Byandaga, L.; Kagabo, D. (2026) Policy Brief: Women at the Center of Climate Resilience:. Gender-Responsive Weather and Climate Information Services (WCIS) for East Africa. 8 p.. |
| spellingShingle | climate change adaptation empowerment resilience gender analysis income generation Nchanji, Eileen Bogweh Ouya, Frederick Ochieng Lutomia, Cosmas Kweyu Mvuyibwami, Patrick Byandaga, Livingstone Kagabo, Desire Policy Brief: Women at the Center of Climate Resilience:. Gender-Responsive Weather and Climate Information Services (WCIS) for East Africa |
| title | Policy Brief: Women at the Center of Climate Resilience:. Gender-Responsive Weather and Climate Information Services (WCIS) for East Africa |
| title_full | Policy Brief: Women at the Center of Climate Resilience:. Gender-Responsive Weather and Climate Information Services (WCIS) for East Africa |
| title_fullStr | Policy Brief: Women at the Center of Climate Resilience:. Gender-Responsive Weather and Climate Information Services (WCIS) for East Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Policy Brief: Women at the Center of Climate Resilience:. Gender-Responsive Weather and Climate Information Services (WCIS) for East Africa |
| title_short | Policy Brief: Women at the Center of Climate Resilience:. Gender-Responsive Weather and Climate Information Services (WCIS) for East Africa |
| title_sort | policy brief women at the center of climate resilience gender responsive weather and climate information services wcis for east africa |
| topic | climate change adaptation empowerment resilience gender analysis income generation |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179923 |
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