Climate impact on women and local response strategies: illustrated experiences from three districts in Uganda

This illustrations booklet brings to life the lived experiences of women confronting the impacts of climate change across diverse contexts in Uganda. It was developed as part of the Localising National Gender and Climate Policy in Uganda project funded by the British Academy and delivered in partnership between Nottingham Trent University, Makerere University and the Women’s International Peace Centre. The illustrations visually document how climate shocks such as flooding, prolonged droughts, heatwaves, and environmental degradation shape women’s daily lives, livelihoods, health, and care responsibilities, while also highlighting their resilience, knowledge, and adaptive strategies. Grounded in feminist participatory research, the project worked with women refugees in Adjumani, women displaced by climate change in Mbale, and women subsistence farmers in Kasese to centre their voices and perspectives in the research outcomes. Rather than portraying women mainly as victims of climate change, the illustrations foreground women’s agency, collective action, and locally grounded solutions, including adaptation practices related to farming, water management, housing, and community care. By translating research findings into visual narratives, this booklet aims to make evidence accessible across languages, literacy levels, and audiences. It serves as a tool for dialogue and reflection, supporting policymakers, practitioners, civil society, and communities to better understand the gendered impacts of climate change and to strengthen the localisation of gender-responsive climate policies and interventions at district and national levels.