Our joint commitment with Blue Ventures will expand on successes in Madagascar to support the resilience of 1.5 million people in sub-Saharan coastal communities.
Today, MSI Reproductive Choices and Blue Ventures announced their joint Commitment to Action (CTA) to empower women and girls living on the frontline of the climate crisis with reproductive choice.
Speaking at a spotlight session – Defending Sexual and Reproductive Rights in the Face of Climate Change – at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2024 Annual Meeting, the two organizations pledged to scale up their long-standing partnership to reach 1.5 million people in vulnerable coastal communities in Kenya, Tanzania, and Senegal with integrated health and environment information. This includes support for 750,000 people with family planning and community-based marine conservation and fisheries management initiatives.
Globally, MSI projects that 14 million women and girls are at risk of losing access to contraception over the next decade due to climate change-related displacement. Left unaddressed, this is expected to result in more than six million unintended pregnancies, over two million unsafe abortions and nearly 6,000 maternal deaths. Communities living in the coastal tropics are among those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but through its holistic cross-sector partnership, MSI and Blue Ventures aim to raise at least $15m to provide women with the tools they need to adapt and become more resilient.
To fulfil their commitment, MSI and Blue Ventures will draw on successes and lessons learned from their work in protected and coastal areas of Madagascar, which represents one of the longest running health and environment partnerships in the world.
Senior Africa Director for MSI Reproductive Choices Dr. Carole Sekimpi said: “Everyone’s talking about climate but it’s time we started listening to those who are bearing the brunt of the crisis. Extreme weather is challenging millions to reimagine a new normal, but for women and girls in sub-Saharan coastal communities these impacts are especially acute. What they are telling us loud and clear is that while navigating the crisis they want reproductive choice to help them adapt, support their families and take on decision-making roles. We must stop seeing women and girls as only the victims of climate change and instead give them the tools they need to become part of the solution.”
Chief Partnership Officer for Blue Ventures Sharon Young said: “Devastating cyclones. Flooding seas. Dying coral reefs. Collapsing fish stocks. To hundreds of millions of women living in the coastal tropics, climate change is not an abstract forecast to be discussed in a New York conference hall, but a real, present and escalating threat to their survival. Coastal communities who have contributed least to the climate crisis are finding themselves among the most endangered by it. To tackle this shocking injustice, we urgently need to look beyond traditional silos to solutions that can improve the health of people and planet simultaneously, and give communities the best chance of holding the line against the climate emergency.”
About MSI Reproductive Choices
MSI Reproductive Choices is a global healthcare provider that expands access to contraception and safe abortion services to women and girls in 36 countries and six continents worldwide
About Blue Ventures
Blue Ventures is a marine conservation organization that supports coastal communities to rebuild fisheries, restore ocean life and build lasting pathways to prosperity. We work with traditional fishers, community organizations and local partners to design, scale, strengthen and sustain fisheries management and conservation at the community level. Our work began two decades ago in Madagascar’s remote coastal communities through the establishment of the country’s first Locally Managed Marine Area and has since grown globally. Our models have been replicated in more than a dozen countries, predominantly in Africa, the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia, protecting over 17,500km² of vital ocean habitat, and impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)
Founded by President Bill Clinton in 2005, the Clinton Global Initiative is a community of doers representing a broad cross section of society and dedicated to the idea that we can accomplish more together than we can apart. Through CGI’s unique model, more than 10,000 organizations have launched more than 4,000 Commitments to Action — new, specific, and measurable projects and programs – that are making a difference in the lives of more than 500 million people in 180 countries.
