The maps Identify geographic areas where women are disproportionately impacted by cimate change due to a combination of cimate hazards, exposure, and existng gender inequalities.

Developed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) with support from the Delegation of the European Union to Ghana and AGNES, the Maps identified specific districts where women face the greatest risks across agriculture, water, and energy sectors.

The Maps combined data on climate exposure, sectoral sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to pinpoint 'hotspots' districts where women are most vulnerable.

For instance, in agriculture, areas like Upper West and Bono East show high exposure to drought and limited access to irrigation for women farmers.
In the water sector, districts in the Northern and Savannah regions exhibit high sensitivity due to reliance on natural sources and low adaptive capacity.

And in energy, regions such as Oti and Northeast highlight the gendered burdens stemming from biomass dependence and limited access to clean energy.

Dr Charity Osei-Amponsah, Deputy Country Representative at IWMI, who did a presentation on the Map, said it tried to capture inequalities or vulnerabilities that were usually not seen in most development interventions so as to protect the vulnerable populations.

"So, we are first looking at the hazards that are there, the exposure, and existing gender inequalities. That already will be limiting their ability to adapt to whatever they are facing," she said.

Dr Osei-Amponsah said the maps would help decision makers, policymakers and development partners and project managers to understand happenings within specific contexts and to design interventions to address effectively these managers to understand happenings within specific contexts and to design interventions to address effectively these vulnerabilities by building up more adaptive capacity.

She said the map provided critical insights into the gender-specific impacts of climate change exposure in terms of increasing temperatures and also the variability in rainfall.

"It identifies contextual information and key indicators to monitor gender-responsive outcomes in climate change adaptation strategy, and also in climate action in general," she said.

Again, this will allow for targeted interventions and resource allocations to build resilience for both women and men, and also to address specific vulnerabilities at district level, but most importantly, at community and household levels.

"So, the main job of this map or tool is actually to help us bridge that unequal vulnerability issue," she said.
She said the map had tried to highlight the top 25 vulnerable districts with most of them in the Central and Northern regions.

"The interesting thing is that if you see on the map, there are also some districts that are surrounded by top hotpots areas, but they are not hotspots themselves. We want to understand, why are they in the midst of so much deep colour, but yet they are kind of resilient," she said.
Overall, the map facilitates the development of targeted gender-responsive climate change adaptation policies, programmes, and projects so that vulnerable districts benefit from interventions.

It also enables better allocation of resources to build resilience in specific sectors.
It also supports monitoring and evaluation of climate change adaptation efforts, ensuring that the interventions effectively address gender-specific vulnerabilities.
Afua Ansre, Senior Gender Specialist at UN Women, who launched the map, said policy makers, planners, development partners, and local offices could now see areas prone to climate risks and gender disparities and planned their interventions.

"These tools will provide us with sex-disaggregated data at the district level and meticulously map the intersection of climate exposure, sectorial sensitivity, and adaptive capacity."
She said the launch marked a significant stride in Ghana's pursuit of gender equality and climate resilience.

Paulina Rozycka, Head of the Infrastructure and Sustainable Development Section at the European Union Delegation to Ghana, said the initiative represented a significant step forward in addressing the critical intersection of climate change and gender inequality in Ghana.

She said the Gender Climate Vulnerability Hotspot Maps were powerful decision-
support tools designed to illuminate where climate risks intersect with gender inequalities across Ghana's agriculture, water, and energy sectors.

"The European Union is committed to seeing these maps utilized to their fullest potential. We believe they will be instrumental in guiding targeted climate adaptation strategies and unlocking climate finance for gender-transformative climate resilience interventions," she said.

Dr Olufunke Cofie, Africa Director for Research Impact, International Water Management Institute, said the Institute continued focus was on generating knowledge that would inform decisions that lead to tangible outcomes.

She said the Maps had the potential for scaling up, not just in Ghana, but also in other parts of the region, and for application in some of the projects and programmes and initiatives.
She called on stakeholders to provide valuable feedback to ensure that the Maps were revised to meet their needs.