The mission of One Day’s Wages is to alleviate extreme poverty. While we can truly celebrate all the progress that has been made over the years, there is a looming threat to that progress: climate change. 

The World Bank estimates that another 100 million people could be living in poverty by 2030 because of the impact of climate change on their lives. That’s a staggering number. So why are people living in poverty so vulnerable to climate change?

• They are more exposed to the impacts of climate change – heat, drought and floods – because of where they live,
• They have fewer safety nets to rely on when disaster strikes – things like savings and insurance,
• And they tend to lose more during natural disasters because their wealth is held in assets like livestock instead of bank accounts.

All of these vulnerabilities intersect with the issues that One Day’s Wages and our partners care deeply about: issues like hunger, livelihoods, disease and emergency relief.  Hunger is exacerbated by extreme weather events and droughts that destroy crops and cause food prices to spike. Jobs and income are impacted when climate disasters destroy livestock and  infrastructure. Preventable diseases are again on the rise with increases in waterborne illness after floods, and in vector-transmitted diseases like malaria.  

For these reasons, the UNHCR estimates that 23 million people are displaced from their homes each year due to climate change.  Incidentally, the countries most vulnerable to climate change are hosting 52% of the world’s internally displaced peoples and 28% of all refugees.

So, how do we respond?  What can we do?

On a personal level, all of us can consider the actions we can take to mitigate climate change and make sure the earth is healthy for all. 

But for our partners, the mandate is different.  Our partners are working within communities that are the least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, yet the most vulnerable to changing climate and weather patterns.

That’s why we’re investing in partnerships that support communities to adapt to climate change.  Through our partnership with SIDI in Tanzania, women fishermen who can no longer earn a living from fishing in Lake Victoria because of climate change are learning to operate community-managed fish ponds instead.  Similarly, in Malawi we’re partnering with PRHE so that women can earn income by making and selling climate-smart bricks made of agricultural waste. 

We also support partners to build community resilience so that people living in poverty aren’t as vulnerable to the shocks of climate change in the first place.  For example, we’re partnering with Restore Hope Liberia so that women experiencing depression and climate-related anxiety can receive mental health support along with climate-adapted options for growing food.  Many of our partnerships also support people to grow their savings, diversify their sources of income, and protect themselves from preventable diseases.

Finally, we’re paying attention to the parts of the world that are especially vulnerable to climate change.  Many of these countries and regions are already experiencing the compounding effects of conflict and extreme poverty.  When we come alongside partners working in vulnerable countries, climate resilience grows alongside social change.

There is tragedy, but there is so much hope too.

Will you join us in considering one action you can take today?   

Explore our Climate Impact Partnerships