Presenter Biography
Ma'Adjoa, as the presenter prefers to be called, is doing a Ph.D. in Community Health at Oregon Health & Science University and Portland State University (OHSU-PSU) School of Public Health. Her research areas are pregnancy planning, parental mental health, disability health (sexual & reproductive and recreation), women’s health, adolescents’ health, and sexual and reproductive health and justice. Ma'Adjoa spends her time armchair traveling, exploring pre-colonial Afrika, and really traveling with her host family.
Institution
PSU
Program/Major
PhD Community Health
Degree
PhD
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
4-4-2023 3:35 PM
End Date
4-4-2023 3:45 PM
Creative Commons License or Rights Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/40231
Subjects
Climate change; Project Drawdown Solutions; Rwanda; Family planning; Education; Women empowerment; Women; Girls; Climate mitigation
Abstract
Countries where population growth is high are often highly impacted by the climate crisis despite not being a significant contributor to historical greenhouse gas emissions. This has created a global inequality in that countries with poorly developed infrastructure are 15 times more likely to have deaths due to climate related disasters such as floods, droughts, and storms compared to wealthy countries that can better protect against similar events. While the climate crisis impacts everyone, women and girls are at a higher risk because of their unique health needs and roles in the community. The effects of climate change can be mitigated by building resilience, promoting adaptation, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Based on Project Drawdown modeling, the promotion of family planning and education can reduce nearly 70 gigatons of carbon dioxide emission equivalent between 2020 and 2050 and could have significant health benefits for women and the communities.
In this project, I explored how education and women empowerment were significant strategies in Rwanda’s recovery from the 1990s civil war and 1994 Genocide. After the war, Rwanda focused on strategies like poverty reduction, gender equality, maternal mortality reduction, and wildlife conservation. Presently, Rwanda is among the least corrupt countries and best places to do business in Africa. Its gross domestic product has increased from USD1 billion in 1994 to almost USD10 billion as of 2020. The Rwandan story, then and now, illustrates adaptation strategies which can be translated to mitigating the impacts of climate change by promoting family planning and education.
Included in
Education Commons, Public Health Commons, Social Justice Commons
Investing in Family Planning, Education, and Empowering of Women and Girls to Mitigate the Impact of Climate Change: An Exemplary Case of Rwanda.
Countries where population growth is high are often highly impacted by the climate crisis despite not being a significant contributor to historical greenhouse gas emissions. This has created a global inequality in that countries with poorly developed infrastructure are 15 times more likely to have deaths due to climate related disasters such as floods, droughts, and storms compared to wealthy countries that can better protect against similar events. While the climate crisis impacts everyone, women and girls are at a higher risk because of their unique health needs and roles in the community. The effects of climate change can be mitigated by building resilience, promoting adaptation, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Based on Project Drawdown modeling, the promotion of family planning and education can reduce nearly 70 gigatons of carbon dioxide emission equivalent between 2020 and 2050 and could have significant health benefits for women and the communities.
In this project, I explored how education and women empowerment were significant strategies in Rwanda’s recovery from the 1990s civil war and 1994 Genocide. After the war, Rwanda focused on strategies like poverty reduction, gender equality, maternal mortality reduction, and wildlife conservation. Presently, Rwanda is among the least corrupt countries and best places to do business in Africa. Its gross domestic product has increased from USD1 billion in 1994 to almost USD10 billion as of 2020. The Rwandan story, then and now, illustrates adaptation strategies which can be translated to mitigating the impacts of climate change by promoting family planning and education.