Bridging the Climate-Gender-Health Nexus:

A Funder's Starter Guide

Amplify and Scale Grassroots Solutions

The Challenge

Grassroots organizations are run by local leaders who directly experience climate hazards in their communities and have insight into potential solutions, yet their expertise is often overlooked in the funding ecosystem. While many donors understand the importance of involving vulnerable communities in climate policy and financing discussions, donor processes often fail to accommodate rapid responses to small funding requests from community-based organizations. As a result, local organizations remain underfunded and unable to carry out their vital work.

The Opportunity

Investing in grassroots organizations has an outsized impact across affected communities. However, donors can’t allocate funding to organizations they are not aware of. One effective approach to increase funding for grassroots organizations and advocates is creating a centralized resource of vetted organizations working at the climate-SRHR nexus in their communities. Learn more about the climate-gender-health work that community-based organizations are doing across policy advocacy, research, and community programs at local and international levels in the list of partner examples below.

The Role of Intermediary Organizations

Understanding the landscape of community-based organizations is an important first step to resourcing local organizations. However, funding systems are not typically designed for small-scale giving. Intermediary organizations offer funders a streamlined mechanism to direct funds to grassroots organizations.

As an intermediary, Panorama Global supports nine NGOs in low-and middle-income countries to promote climate-aware SRHR programming, encourage collaboration among stakeholders, and enhance climate resilience for vulnerable populations, including women and youth. This streamlined approach enables funders to support vital work more efficiently. Other existing funding vehicles to support grassroots NGOs include organizations such as:

Recommended Investment Strategies

  • Lead advocacy efforts to integrate gender and SRHR in climate policy and financing plans, from local to global levels.
  • Facilitate cross-sector dialogue between key stakeholders including government ministries, media, educational institutions, religious leaders, and healthcare professionals to deepen understanding of the climate-gender-SRHR nexus.
  • Develop strategic advocacy programs that amplify youth voices and policy recommendations through targeted communications and capacity building.
  • Foster collaboration between women's organizations, youth groups, Indigenous leadership, and climate advocates to jointly shape climate adaptation policies that protect community health, especially in local policymaking.
  • Support the placement of a gender expert advisor within climate-focused entities such as government ministries, climate finance institutions, or climate divisions of philanthropic institutions.
  • Promote engagement with municipal authorities to ensure emergency alert systems and disaster preparedness plans, such as heat action plans, address gender equality and social inclusion, particularly in vulnerable cities.

Building Health Systems Resilience: Protecting Frontline Health Workers

Frontline health workers bear the brunt of the worsening climate crisis as physical and mental health impacts in their communities escalate. Learn why Community Health Workers (CHWs) are an investment priority. The NGOs listed below are working to strengthen frontline health workers’ climate resilience through advocacy and capacity strengthening:

Partner Examples

*Current or previous Panorama Global grantee

Jeunes Volontaires pour l'Environnement (JVE) Niger*

Mobilizing youth for Climate and health advocacy in Francophone Africa.

Location: Registered NGO in Niger

About: Established in 2009, JVE Niger is a youth-focused nonprofit advocating for climate adaptation and health policies in Niger and Francophone Africa.

Climate-SRHR Spotlight: In December 2024, JVE published a Policy Brief, The Urgent Need to Integrate Family Planning into Climate Adaptation Policies and Programmes in Niger (English abstract here), advocating for the integration of family planning into Niger’s National Adaptation Plan. This initiative led to the government assigning gender focal points within ministries and committing to a gender-responsive climate change strategy.

Climate Action Network Tanzania (CAN TZ)*

Empowering Tanzanians for climate action and health justice.

Location: Registered NGO in Tanzania

About: Climate Action Network Tanzania is a leading think-and-do tank based in Tanzania. For over a decade, CAN TZ has been strategically engaging in influencing the government to develop relevant climate policy frameworks and implement on-the-ground interventions important for a climate-resilient society. CAN TZ is at the forefront of advocacy efforts to integrate gender and sexual and reproductive health into the national climate policy landscape which includes the Health National Adaptation Plan, National Adaptation Plan, and Nationally Determined Contributions.

Climate-SRHR Spotlight: CAN TZ’s work has strengthened advocacy efforts to ensure integration of gender and SRHR in the national climate policy frameworks including:

Regenerate Africa (RA)*

Advancing climate solutions with SRHR and family planning integration in Africa.

Location: Registered NGO in Uganda

About: Regenerate Africa promotes regenerative, multi-sectoral development approaches where human choices and economies thrive in harmony with nature for the health of people, the natural environment, and livelihoods. RA works in collaboration with communities, governments, NGOs, businesses, and research institutions. They are a champion of gender and SRHR in national, regional and global climate advocacy efforts like COP, The Bonn Climate Conference, and Africa Climate and Health related Conferences where they have made significant contributions to integrate SRHR and gender into climate strategies, frameworks, and processes. RA is also a part of the SRHR and Climate Justice Coalition.

Climate-SRHR Spotlight:

The Mama-Pikin Foundation (MPF)*

Improving the health of women, children, and families in Sierra Leone.

Location: Registered 501(c)(3) in the U.S. and registered NGO in Sierra Leone

About: The Mama-Pikin Foundation is an organization whose mission is to improve the health of women, children, and families in Sierra Leone. They work with the Ministry of Health to support policy and research, training programs, and to strengthen quality of care in health facilities across districts. MPF also provides direct support to pregnant women, children, and families in communities and government health facilities.

Climate-SRHR Spotlight: MPF, in partnership with Human Rights Watch, explores how heat, flooding, and other climate hazards affect maternal health in Sierra Leone. They are also in the process of developing an educational flip chart on climate and SRH to educate community members about the linkages, which will be published by mid-2025. 

Girls Engaged in Medicine and other Sciences (GEMS)*

Promoting women's leadership in the fields of medicine and other sciences.

Location: Registered NGO in Niger

About: GEMS is committed to building a society where women are recognized as leaders in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) while inspiring young girls to engage in these disciplines and explore their potential. In response to witnessing severe disruptions to already limited reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCAH) services due to climate disasters, their work has expanded to advocating for inclusion of RMNCAH in natural disaster management plans and policies in Niger.

Climate-SRHR Spotlight: GEMS conducted awareness-raising and capacity-building on SRHR and menstrual hygiene management through a project focused on municipalities experiencing natural disasters. These local efforts have allowed GEMS to create a network of key partners including national networks, government leaders, and religious leaders who will be critical to their regional advocacy and climate-SRHR efforts moving forward.

Pathways Policy Institute (PPI)*

Strengthening community health systems in the face of climate change.

Location: Registered NGO in Kenya

About: Pathways Policy Institute works with advocates and communities in a participatory process to identify areas that can influence primary health, sexual and reproductive health, and environmental policies through research, training, and capacity strengthening. PPI aims to provide a safe space for advocates and communities to meaningfully influence public health and environmental policies through research, training, and capacity strengthening.

Climate-SRHR Spotlight: PPI led a project in Laikipia County, Kenya, to link sexual and reproductive health advocacy with climate justice and resilience. The project worked to enhance health leadership and service delivery in climate-affected areas, resulting in an 11% increase in county funding for reproductive health/family planning and coverage under the Universal Health Coverage Scheme. Through its youth capacity strengthening efforts, PPI trained young advocates on integrating family planning and reproductive health into climate resiliency efforts leading to the integration of health and environment into county planning and budgeting. More details on their work can be found in their 2023 Annual Report.

PHE Ethiopia Consortium (PHE-EC)

Promoting the integration of population, health, environment, and development through innovative multi-sector mechanisms and inclusive, holistic actions to build resilient and thriving communities.

Location: Registered NGO in Ethiopia

About: The Population-Health-Environment Ethiopia Consortium is a member-based NGO working to integrate Population, Health, Environment and Development (PHED) across Ethiopia. As part of this work, the consortium and its partners advocate for climate and SRHR linkages and the need to incorporate SRHR into climate change adaptation plans. Their ongoing SRHR and Environment Integration project focuses on policy advocacy and building local climate resilience with the goal of replication in other areas.

Climate-SRHR Spotlight:

Rwenzori Center for Research and Advocacy (RCRA)

Empowering Communities for improved livelihoods, healthcare, and education for the 21st century.

Location: Registered 501(c)(3) in the US and registered NGO in Uganda

About: RCRA’s ongoing project, Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Gatherings for Young Women Gardeners, aims to reduce unwanted pregnancies through the economic empowerment of young mothers with climate-smart vegetable gardening. In the Kasese context, vegetable gardening is the most reliable, low-cost, and socially acceptable livelihood for these young mothers, enabling them to earn their own income to cover basic needs and ultimately avoid transactional sex and unwanted pregnancies.

Climate-SRHR Spotlight: As of March 2024, 3.5 years into the project, local women have established 550 home vegetable gardens and 46 community gardens, with the use of organic, climate-smart agricultural techniques. The program has also integrated a component of sexual and reproductive health education and services for 500 adolescent mothers.

TaYa Ethiopia

Providing youth with opportunities on gender equality, economic empowerment and preserving the environment.

Location: Registered NGO in Ethiopia

About: TaYA is a non-profit, nonpartisan, youth-focused national NGO founded in 2003. They have integrated climate justice as a program pillar in Ethiopia’s 2023-2030 strategic plan. TaYA aims to raise awareness of the interconnection between climate change, gender, and sexual and reproductive health by advocating for regional and national climate adaptation strategies that integrate SRH.

Climate-SRHR Spotlight: TaYA assists over 40,000 internally displaced people, due to climate change and conflict, residing in the town of Debrebirhan, Ethiopia. Among the displaced women and youth, TaYA has identified many SRH needs that they have turned into policy recommendations.

Western Uganda Faith Based Organization Network (WUFBON)*

Enhancing the well-being of people in Uganda and beyond by promoting sustainable development, social justice, and interfaith cooperation.

Location: Registered NGO in Uganda

About: WUFBON is an interfaith umbrella organization, born out of the recognition of a need for collective action to address social, economic, and environmental challenges in the region.

Climate-SRHR Spotlight: WUFBON empowers young people in western Uganda with knowledge about the linkages between climate change, poverty, and SRHR through:

  • An integrated climate change and comprehensive sexuality education curriculum reaching 33,000 participants.
  • Advocacy efforts that influenced the local government to include SRHR and climate mitigation considerations into the nutrition action plan.
  • A case study on WUFBON’s work is available on the ClimateXSRHR resource hub
Pathfinder International

Working with partners to advance locally led solutions to climate and health resilience.

Location: Registered 501(c)(3) in the U.S with branch office registrations in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, the DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania, Ugande, the UAE; liaison and non-profit registration in India; and INGO registration in Pakistan

About: Pathfinder integrates climate initiatives with sexual and reproductive health, women’s economic empowerment, and health systems strengthening interventions—delivering crucial services to women and girls, while helping communities adapt to the climate crisis. Pathfinder’s programs support climate-resilient health systems, and engage women, young people, and entire communities in leading climate adaptation solutions and becoming the next generation of climate leaders and innovators.

Climate-SRHR Spotlight:

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