London — Climate change is hitting girls hardest — and a major new global report says the damage to their health, safety and futures has stayed largely invisible until now. Plan International’s Change Her Forecast report, the charity’s flagship annual State of the World’s Girls study released this October for the International Day of the Girl, draws on the experiences of more than 5,000 girls and young women aged 15–24 across Bangladesh, Kenya, Peru, Senegal and Zimbabwe, backed by a secondary analysis of health and climate data spanning 52 countries over three decades.
The findings are stark. According to the report, nine in ten girls surveyed said climate-related events were placing serious pressure on their family’s survival, health and stability. More than three-quarters — 76 per cent — said girls and young women in their community were struggling to access at least one sexual or reproductive health service. The report also finds that 36 per cent saw more girls marrying before the age of 18, 33 per cent saw more unintended pregnancies, and 28 per cent observed increased violence against women and girls following climate-related events.
What the research uncovered
Floods, droughts, cyclones and extreme heat are destroying the health and education services girls depend on — while also pushing families toward desperate choices. According to Plan International, climate disasters are forcing families to marry off young daughters as a “survival strategy”. The charity says slow-onset drought destroys the household economies that keep girls out of marriage: across 52 countries and three decades, prolonged drought emerged as the hazard most consistently associated with rising rates of child marriage and early unions, as families lose harvests, livestock and income over months and years until marrying a daughter becomes a survival strategy.
An AFP summary of the report adds that one in ten girls reported an unintended pregnancy following a climate-related event, and 28 per cent said they had witnessed an increase in violence against women — a figure that rose to 60 per cent in Zimbabwe, which has been severely hit by rising temperatures. Half of the girls surveyed said girls and young women were struggling to access menstrual products or clean water to manage menstruation.
Girls’ voices at the centre
The report keeps the voices of girls themselves at its centre. Faith, 17, from Kenya, is quoted describing how schooling makes the difference: “Girls in schools are taught on their rights, against early marriage, taught how to protect themselves. Unfortunately, girls who are not in school miss out on such important information on protection.”
In Ghana, the report’s launch became a demonstration of youth leadership in itself. On 13 October, during Plan International Ghana’s Girls’ Takeover Day marking the International Day of the Girl, 14-year-old Priscilla Amoadzah took over as Country Director of Plan International Ghana for the day, while 21-year-old Juliet Dede Gberbi assumed the role of UNICEF Ghana Officer in Charge. The young leaders set out five recommendations: keep girls in school during climate-related emergencies, invest in girls’ health, guarantee access to essential services during disasters, end child marriage, and include girls in climate-related decision-making.
“Even though we are young, we understand the challenges we face, and we deserve to be part of decisions about our future,” they said, launching the report with the words: “Our future matters. Our voices matter. And it is time to #ChangeHerForecast.”
FAKTA
- 9 in 10 girls said climate events were placing serious pressure on their family’s survival, health and stability.
- 76% said girls and young women struggled to access at least one sexual or reproductive health service.
- 36% saw more girls marrying before the age of 18 in their communities.
- 33% saw more unintended pregnancies among girls and young women.
- 28% observed increased violence against women and girls after climate-related events.
Change Her Forecast: putting girls at the heart of climate action
The report’s findings have inspired Change Her Forecast, Plan International’s new global campaign calling for girls to be at the heart of climate action. The campaign asks governments, donors and communities to integrate the needs of girls into climate adaptation, resilience and humanitarian responses — and to amplify the voices of girls themselves, who the charity says are speaking out, supporting their communities and demanding change, yet are too often overlooked.
The campaign sits within a wider push for climate awareness that also runs through education: schools, the charity argues, are trusted spaces where climate learning can reach girls before shocks strike. For more of Watan News International’s ongoing reporting on the climate crisis, see our climate and environment coverage.
Conclusion
Change Her Forecast reframes the climate crisis as a crisis for girls’ health, safety and futures — and argues that awareness itself is a first line of defence. Whether policy-makers act on its call to put girls at the heart of climate action will shape how millions of girls weather the shocks already on their doorstep.
