The African Women's Call to Climate Action

Africa’s women are the backbone of food systems and community resilience. Yet, they bear the brunt of the climate crisis while remaining sidelined in policymaking.

To bridge this gap, the African Women Climate Action Network (AWCAN) was launched in 2025, as the inaugural ‘Collective’. Bringing together Amujae Leaders and regional climate champions, AWCAN developed the African Women’s Call to Climate Action — a landmark advocacy framework that establishes women as the primary architects of sustainable solutions.

This first pilot sought to integrate research, field advocacy, and high-level convenings to redress long-neglected gender disparities. The resulting framework demonstrates how African women leaders and experts can be at the helm of gender-responsive climate governance.

About AWCAN

‘The Collective’ is an EJS Center initiative that empowers Amujae Leaders to spearhead expert dialogues and action on Africa’s most urgent challenges. Through thematic “clusters,” it brings together experts to explore and identify practical solutions for issues like climate resilience and economic inclusion, turning leadership into measurable policy impact. AWCAN was launched as the inaugural Collective, providing a successful proof-of-concept for turning high-level dialogue into actionable policy frameworks.

Vision: A leading African network amplifying the voices and leadership of women and girls in climate action.

Mission: To build strategic partnerships and foster knowledge-sharing that supports inclusive African climate narratives, policies, and solutions.

The inception meeting of the African Women Climate Action Network (or AWCAN) took place from 1–2 May 2025 in Naivasha, Kenya, and was attended by 13 female African climate champions and activists. The theme of this initial meeting was: Igniting Collective Power for African Women’s Climate Leadership. Copyright: EJS / Trans.Lieu

Founding Members of AWCAN

Anisa Bek Derna

Project Mulan

Libya

Grace Galaty

Furaha and Baraka Farms

Kenya

Sahar Albazar

Amujae Leader. Member of Parliament

Egypt

Kanungwe Chota Kanyanyamina

Amujae Leader. Mayor of Kanchibiya.

Zambia

Norwu Kolu Harris

ActionAid

Liberia

Haja Binta Jalloh

Freetown City Council

Sierra Leone

Manja Kargbo

Freetown City Council

Sierra Leone

Joanita Babirye

@Girls4ClimateAction

Uganda

Thandiwe Chidavarume

Women and Land in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Elizabeth Wathuti

Green Generation Initiative

Kenya

Precious Kalombwana

Friday For Future Zambia

Zambia

Dr. Rose Buabeng

African Women's Development Fund

Ghana

The AWCAN Journey

The inception meeting of the African Women Climate Action Networ

May 2025

AWCAN Inception Meeting

Naivasha, Kenya

Under the theme “Igniting Collective Power for African Women’s Climate Leadership”, the EJS Center officially launched AWCAN by convening 12 founding members from across the continent alongside its programmatic staff. The meeting established a core leadership team, a “Circles-based” operational structure, and a value system rooted in sisterhood and stewardship. It also served as a knowledge-sharing hub for grassroots climate solutions from Uganda, Liberia, Kenya, and Sierra Leone.

July 2025

The Rwanda Learning Mission

Kigali, Musanze & Bugesera, Rwanda

To study Rwanda’s leadership in gender-mainstreamed climate policy, an eight-member AWCAN delegation engaged in a multi-day learning exchange with key national institutions and grassroots innovators. By exploring Rwanda’s Green Fund model and visiting women-led green enterprises, the group witnessed how institutionalizing gender in national budgeting transforms policy into community-led resilience. From high-level dialogues with national institutions to sessions with youth advocates, the exchange solidified the case for Rwanda’s circular economy as a blueprint for African climate governance, where women and youth serve as the primary drivers of adaptation.

July 2025

Senegal Site Visit

Dakar, Kamb & Thies, Senegal

In Senegal, AWCAN prioritized South–South exchange by bridging the gap between grassroots innovators and national policymakers to tackle systemic climate barriers. The convening highlighted scalable, feminist-led models — ranging from Mère Bineta’s sustainable agroecology and biogas practices to the digital activism of the Climate Linguere Club — proving the impact of community-driven solutions in sectors like mining and extractive industries. While acknowledging persistent gaps in climate finance and policy localization, the gathering pivoted toward a strategic future rooted in feminist funding models and intergenerational co-design as the essential pillars for sustainable progress.

August 2025

Developing the African Women’s Call to Climate Action

Accra, Ghana

In a pivotal three-day working session, AWCAN members and observers transformed shared learnings into a concrete policy framework: the African Women’s Call to Climate Action. Built on three strategic pillars - climate justice, just transition, and green innovation - the session moved beyond dialogue to define bold, quantifiable demands. These include allocating financial resources to women-led solutions and to preserve food sovereignty through protecting indigenous seed systems. Guest speaker, Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr inspired members to lead with urgency and resilience, emphasizing that "leadership must outlast administrations".

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The African Women's Call to Climate Action

Africa’s women are the backbone of food systems and community resilience. Yet, they bear the brunt of the climate crisis while remaining sidelined in policymaking.

About AWCAN

Founding Members of AWCAN

The AWCAN Journey

Engage with AWCAN

Amplify

Partner

Collaborate

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