Three Months of Action, Resilience and Advocacy
Over the past three months, the Namibia Rural Women’s Assembly (NRWA), through support from the African Climate Justice Movement (ACJM) Climate Emergency Grant, has worked to respond to the growing climate crisis affecting rural women across Namibia.
Climate Change Impacts Across Namibia
Namibia is increasingly experiencing multiple climate-related disasters that are affecting rural communities and livelihoods. In Northern Namibia, flooding has become a recurring reality as heavy rainfall and floodwaters flowing from Angola through the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin inundate villages, crop fields, roads, and grazing areas. During the 2025/2026 rainy season, exceptionally severe floods destroyed crops, isolated communities, damaged infrastructure, and left many households struggling to recover.
At the same time, other parts of the country continue to face prolonged drought, extreme heat waves, water shortages, and the loss of grazing land. Communities have reported gardens and crops being scorched by intense temperatures, while concerns continue to grow over the drying of water sources and the death of indigenous trees that play an important role in sustaining local ecosystems.
In recent months, many parts of Namibia have also experienced severe hailstorms and unusually cold weather conditions, including frost and snowfall in some areas. These events have damaged grasslands needed for livestock grazing, destroyed crops, and negatively affected small stock such as goats and sheep, particularly young animals. The increasing occurrence of floods, droughts, heat waves, hailstorms, frost, and snowfall demonstrates the growing unpredictability of weather patterns and the reality of climate change for rural communities.
Supporting Women Affected by Climate Disasters
In response to these challenges, NRWA provided emergency food assistance and distributed traditional seeds, including mahangu, maize, and cowpea seeds, to 40 flood-affected rural women in Northern Namibia. The support helped families meet immediate food needs while also enabling them to prepare for the next planting season once floodwaters recede. By combining humanitarian assistance with livelihood recovery, the intervention contributed to both short-term relief and long-term resilience.
NRWA also facilitated a Speak-Up Climate Dialogue in Omatjete, Erongo Region, bringing together rural women, traditional leaders, community representatives, farmers, conservancies, and government duty bearers. The dialogue created an important platform for communities to share their experiences and discuss practical solutions to climate-related challenges.
The Reality for Rural Women
Throughout these engagements, women shared how climate change is affecting every aspect of their lives. Recurrent floods continue to destroy crops, food reserves, and household incomes, while prolonged droughts reduce access to water and grazing land. Extreme heat waves are making it increasingly difficult to grow food and are posing risks to human health, especially for women who spend long hours collecting water, caring for livestock, and working in fields.
Women also spoke about the growing impacts of hailstorms, frost, and snowfall, which are damaging crops and weakening livestock. Human-wildlife conflict remains a serious concern, particularly in areas where elephants destroy crops, water infrastructure, and household property. Many women now travel longer distances to secure water for their families and livestock, while the loss of indigenous trees and biodiversity further threatens the ecosystems on which rural livelihoods depend.
The discussions highlighted a common reality: rural women are carrying a disproportionate share of the burden created by climate change, despite contributing the least to the factors driving it.
What Women Are Calling For
Women participating in the dialogue called for greater investment in climate-resilient water infrastructure, stronger support for communities affected by climate disasters, and direct access to climate finance and Loss and Damage funding. They emphasized the need for improved responses to human-wildlife conflict, increased access to agroecology training, and the establishment of community seed banks to preserve indigenous seeds and strengthen food sovereignty.
Participants also stressed the importance of early warning systems, emergency response mechanisms, and climate adaptation programmes that place women at the centre of planning and decision-making. Above all, they called for the recognition of rural women as leaders, knowledge holders, and key actors in building resilient and sustainable communities.
Looking Forward
While the ACJM Climate Emergency Grant has helped restore hope and strengthen resilience among affected communities, many challenges remain. Some flood-affected households are still inaccessible, while communities across Namibia continue to face recurring climate shocks that threaten livelihoods, food security, and well-being.
NRWA remains committed to working alongside rural women to advance climate justice, strengthen food sovereignty, protect indigenous seeds, promote agroecology, and build resilient communities capable of withstanding future climate challenges.
We are the Guardians of Land, Life, Seeds and Love.
