Bodily Autonomy Is Climate Resilience: Connecting SRHR With the Futures We Are Building

About the session Sexual and reproductive health and rights are often treated as one part of the global health agenda. In reality, they shape much more: whether girls stay in school, whether women can exercise agency over their lives, how families navigate economic and climate shocks, and whether communities can build healthier and more resilient futures. Yet hard-won progress on SRHR cannot be taken for granted. Growing concern about declining fertility rates is beginning to influence political narratives and policy debates, raising questions about whether governments and donors could deprioritise reproductive rights or embrace pronatalist responses. At the same time, SRHR remains politically contentious in many contexts, including increasingly polarised public discourse in the United States. Climate change adds another dimension. Displacement, food insecurity, extreme weather and disrupted health systems can make it harder for women and girls to access reproductive healthcare precisely when they are most vulnerable. Community adaptation that ignores bodily autonomy risks overlooking a fundamental part of resilience. This session will bring these conversations together. What would it mean to treat SRHR as foundational to health, education, climate resilience and development? How should the sector respond to changing fertility narratives without feeding demographic alarmism? And how can stronger evidence, financing and collaboration protect rights, choice and wellbeing while expanding the opportunities available to women and girls? Discussion Group Leaders Chiara Villani is Manager, Partnerships and Engagement at Alliance of Bioversity and CIAY, advancing strategic partnerships that translate science into global action on sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, and food systems. Klau Pakos is CEO & Co-Founder at Lafiya, advancing locally led solutions that improve health and well-being in underserved communities. Traci Baird is President & CEO at EngenderHealth, advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, maternal and newborn health, and gender equality globally. What to expect A cross-sector conversation connecting SRHR with climate adaptation, girls’ education, nutrition, leadership and financing. Participants will examine emerging threats to reproductive rights alongside opportunities to make SRHR a more explicit part of wider development and resilience strategies. The discussion will combine horizon-scanning around fertility narratives with a practical exploration of how different sectors can make the case for sustained investment and coordinated action. Who this is for This session is for SRHR and global health leaders, girls’ education practitioners, climate and resilience organisations, funders, policymakers, advocates and researchers interested in protecting reproductive rights and strengthening women’s and girls’ agency. What you will get out of it A clearer view of how fertility decline narratives could affect SRHR policy and funding Stronger connections between SRHR, girls’ education, climate resilience and development Approaches to communicating about demographic change while reinforcing rights and choice Insights into building the evidence and investment case for integrated approaches New connections across communities that too often work on these issues separately