The importance of a climate-resilient care system for the SDGs in Africa

The road to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be paved with good intentions unless serious investments are made in climate-resilient care infrastructure and services. Such investments will accelerate progress toward multiple SDGs in Africa: gender equality; combatting climate change; poverty reduction; full and productive employment; and affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy and other infrastructure.

Caregiving in sub-Saharan Africa, which is largely carried out by women, is characterized by several features.1 First, African countries have large youth populations and some of the highest fertility rates in the world at 4 children per woman.2 Second, the aging population is rising; while sub-Saharan Africa currently has a lower proportion of older adults at 5% of the population, the United Nations predicts that this will grow to 12% of the population on the continent by 2050.3 Importantly, adults tend to age in their own homes or with their children, who attend to their needs. Third, women in many African countries, especially in southern Africa, still have high unpaid care burdens due to HIV/AIDS.4 Fourth, most African countries have large infrastructure deficits (energy, water/sanitation, and transport), which make caregiving especially onerous. The continent also has the lowest proportion of paid care employment. Other demographic patterns will also affect the needs for care, especially migration and the shift away from agriculture to employment (formal and informal) in urban areas.

Climate change increases the need for care and exacerbates the already-existing care challenges.5 Climate extremes are becoming more frequent and severe and disproportionately affect African economies and societies. African countries warmed at a rate of +0.3°C per decade between 1991 and 2023, a slightly faster rate than the global average.6 Some regions on the continent have been experiencing severe, long-term drought, crop failures, and famine; others, intense rains, sea-level rise, and both coastal and riparian flooding which lowers labor productivity, strains inputs to care, damages care infrastructure, and threatens food security.7 These challenges fall more heavily on women than men given the former’s disproportionate representation in agriculture, care, and informal work.

Investment is needed for climate-resilient care infrastructure. This involves investments in clean energy (and clean cooking), water/sanitation, and transport, all of which are inputs to effective and quality care. In low- and middle-income countries, more resilient power, water, sanitation, and transport sector assets would cost around 3% more, on average.8 But over their lifetimes, the net benefits could reach an estimated $4.2 trillion, or $4 for each $1 invested.9 Such investments have job-creating potential.10 Importantly, if designed with a mindset to reduce occupational sex segregation and ensure that the new green jobs are available to women, the transition to a low-carbon economy can be accelerated by an increased workforce.11 Even so, women will only be able to participate in the green transition if new care infrastructure is created.

Domestic resources and international finance are both needed to support the development of resilient care systems, but neither source currently provides adequate funds in most countries. Public spending on pre-primary education alone (without factoring in any climate adaptation measures) is a tiny fraction of gross domestic product (GDP) in the six African countries analyzed by De Henau (2021).12 Climate finance can play a role to complement development finance. In sub-Saharan Africa, it is estimated that climate adaptation will cost $30 billion to $50 billion per year over the next decade, 2%–3% of the regional GDP.13 These estimates, however, ignore the costs of increased care services in response to climate hazards.

Like investment in green energy, public investment in resilient child and eldercare infrastructure and services creates direct employment and generates multiplier effects, including indirect employment in industries (food, energy, manufacturing) that supply the care sector and increased tax revenue stemming from increased employment, earnings, and consumption.14

The upfront costs should therefore be seen as a transitional financing issue. Policymakers can look for synergies across investments, for instance, in the health, education, and social protection sectors, that can more effectively support caregivers. The recently enhanced window of the Climate Adaptation Fund for local efforts could include care services/ infrastructure among the funding criteria. It is important to recognize that care provides an essential public good for current and future generations. Prioritizing publicly financed climate-resilient care services and infrastructure will help accelerate progress toward multiple SDGs in Africa while ensuring that no one is left behind.