· Climate Justice
Climate change and women’s access to water in Africa
Drought, erratic rain and displacement push water further from women’s homes. What the science says and what RFLD asks of funders.
The RFLD Newsroom · News, analysis, field notesLa salle de presse du RFLD · Actualités, analyses, notes de terrain
Dispatches from a network of 1,143 women-led organisationsLes nouvelles d’un réseau de 1 143 organisations dirigées par des femmes
Reporting, analysis and field notes from members in more than 35 African countries, on women’s rights, SRHR, civic space, climate justice, peace and security. Articles appear in the language they were written in.Reportages, analyses et notes de terrain de nos membres dans plus de 35 pays africains, sur les droits des femmes, la DSSR, l’espace civique, la justice climatique, la paix et la sécurité. Les articles paraissent dans leur langue de rédaction.
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· Climate Justice
The AU’s year of water: reading Water Vision 2063 with Article 15
The AU made water its 2026 theme and endorsed the Africa Water Vision 2063. RFLD explains why both need Article 15 to deliver for women.
· Climate Justice
Resolution 658: two years to shape sanitation guidelines for women
The African Commission is drafting Guidelines on the Right to Sanitation focused on women and girls. How civil society can shape them.
· Climate Justice
The African Commission’s standards on women and the right to water
From Resolution 300 to the 2019 Guidelines on the Right to Water: what the African Commission asks States to do for women and girls.
· Climate Justice
Cameroon: a water compact and a law reform to shape for women
Cameroon plans to revise its 1998 water law under a 2026 to 2030 compact. RFLD’s case study shows how women’s rights can be built in.
· Climate Justice
Niger: why ratifying the Maputo Protocol matters for water
Niger signed the Maputo Protocol in 2004 but has not ratified it. RFLD’s case study explains what this means for women and water.
· Climate Justice
Nigeria: gender policies on paper, few women in water decisions
Women hold about 5% of state water commissioner posts in Nigeria. RFLD’s case study looks at access, governance and budgets.
· Climate Justice
Ghana: strong averages, deep gaps in women’s access to water
Ghana leads its neighbours on safe water, yet rural and regional gaps remain wide. RFLD’s case study on Article 15 and women.
· Climate Justice
Benin: a right to water in law, and a gap for women
Benin’s 2010 water law recognises a right to water but says nothing about women. Findings from RFLD’s case study on Article 15.
· Climate Justice
Senegal: a new Water Code and a chance to put women first
Senegal is revising its 1981 Water Code. RFLD’s case study shows why the new law should include a chapter on women’s rights to water.
· Climate Justice
Water in schools: why menstrual health is a rights issue
Only 45% of schools in sub-Saharan Africa have basic drinking water. RFLD looks at water, toilets and menstrual health for girls.
· Climate Justice
Violence at the water point: making access safe for women
Research links long walks for water to violence against women. RFLD’s policy brief sets out the evidence and what States should do.
· Climate Justice
Safe drinking water in West and Central Africa: the 2024 figures
Only 2.8% of rural people in Middle Africa had safely managed drinking water in 2024. The figures behind RFLD’s policy brief on Article 15.
· Climate Justice
250 million hours a day: the time women spend fetching water
Women and girls spend 250 million hours a day collecting water. RFLD explains why this time burden is a rights issue under the Maputo Protocol.
· Climate Justice
Who fetches water in Africa? What the data show
In sub-Saharan Africa, women are four times as likely as men to fetch water. RFLD’s policy brief sets out the evidence.
Stay informedRester informée
Get the funder briefing once a monthRecevez la note aux bailleurs une fois par mois
A short summary of results, open calls and partnership opportunities across the network, in English or French. Journalists can find our boilerplate and approved facts in the press kit.Un court résumé des résultats, des appels ouverts et des possibilités de partenariat dans le réseau, en français ou en anglais. Les journalistes trouveront notre présentation type et nos chiffres approuvés dans le kit presse.
John Gbenagnon
Director of Strategy and DevelopmentDirecteur de la stratégie et du développement
gbenagnon.john@rflgd.org
Funder briefingNote aux bailleurs