Climate Change and Poverty: Coping Strategies Adopted by Female-Headed Households in Zimbabwe

Abstract

There has been a rise of households that are female-headed in Zimbabwe caused by socio-economic and environmental challenges bedevilling the country. The study utilisedsecondary data sources inclusive of desktop research and a historical approach which uses the analysis of documents. The researchers measured the strategies used by these female-headed households in Zimbabwe against the following indicators (1) factors affecting female-headed households during the climate change, (2) female-headed household survival strategies and (3) coping strategies adopted by female-headed households. During this period of climate change, various factors are affecting female-headed households in Zimbabwe and these include HIV/AIDS, lower levels of education, poor unemployment rate, little income and poor access towards resources. These female-headed households in Zimbabwe are adopting coping strategies that do not help them to stop the intergenerational transfer of this climate-induced poverty. The coping strategies adopted include resorting to small grain production, vending items such as fruits and vegetables within the house, neighbourhoods and streets. Some female-headed households survive on offering domestic services and prostitution. Therefore the study concludes these coping strategies have made some women remain in the cycle of poverty. Recommendations to improve the status of women include training and educating women about climate change disasters so that they can effectively adopt intercropping. This will assist the women’s dependents and children with educational funds to stop the intergenerational transfer of poverty and to provide these women with cheaper access to resources in a bid to reduce their poverty incidences.