The Nexus Between Climate Change and Human Security in Africa

Climate change constitutes an increasingly acute and systemic threat to human security, with its impacts expected to be particularly pronounced in least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS). The intersection of biophysical stressors, socio-political instability, and economic vulnerability renders these contexts especially susceptible to climate-induced insecurity. Communities already experiencing chronic insecurity often lack the institutional capacity and socio-economic resilience required to implement effective adaptation strategies or engage in comprehensive disaster risk reduction. In fragile and conflict-affected settings, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, the effects of climate change are likely to exacerbate existing governance deficits, deepen developmental disparities, and further erode adaptive capacity. This convergence of climatic and structural vulnerabilities underscores the urgent need for integrated, context-sensitive responses that address both environmental and conflict-related dimensions of human insecurity. This study critically interrogates the complex interlinkages between climate change and human security, elucidating their profound ramifications for sustainable development, with an empirical focus on the African context. Employing a qualitative meta-synthesis grounded in the PRISMA framework, the research delineates six core vectors of climate-induced human insecurity: agrarian destabilisation, hydrological stress, gendered vulnerability, urban fragility, environmental conflict, and institutional incapacity. The analysis revealed that climate change transcends its environmental character to constitute a multidimensional catalyst for human insecurity, undermining resilience, exacerbating inequality, and impeding developmental trajectories. The study advocates for the reconfiguration of adaptation paradigms through integrated, gender-sensitive, and participatory governance mechanisms that enhance adaptive capacity, institutional coherence, and climate-resilient development pathways across vulnerable geographies.