ELEVATE: Early Career Researchers’ Initiative for Strengthening Women's Climate Resilience

Extreme heat, drought and water scarcity are among Iraq’s most significant climate-related challenges, severely impacting food, water, social and health security. Women in Iraq face difficulties in coping with these extremes due to socioeconomic disparities, limited access to resources, health and safety risks, restricted mobility and cultural barriers. Women in southern Iraq are especially vulnerable because they rely on farming and livestock.

Existing gender inequalities hinder women’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from such events, increasing their vulnerability and that of their communities. Enhancing women’s resilience is crucial not only for their well-being but also for strengthening the overall resilience of their communities.

This project brings together early career researchers with established researchers and practitioners from the UK and Iraq for a workshop to identify, assess and address gaps in women's resilience to extreme heat and water scarcity in Iraq. Through climate resilience assessments, the participants and mentors aim to pinpoint the main challenges and weaknesses in women’s resilience, and the most urgent areas for resilience-building. Select teams formed through the workshop will then develop and implement research projects addressing the challenges.

The project is funded by the British Council's Researcher Challenges Grant. 

_{Access to clean water sparks joy for an entire village in Anbar (C) UNDP Iraq, Flickr (2021)}