A rapid analysis of the gender intentionality of Africa's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

This research paper by FSD Africa analyzes the integration of gender strategies within the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of 31 African countries. Using the IUCN's Environment and Gender Information (EGI) framework, the study finds that while most African NDCs mention gender, there is a significant lack of gender analysis, sex-disaggregated data, and gender-responsive budgeting. The paper highlights a disconnect between the mobilization of climate finance and gender intentionality, noting that countries with high funding levels often fail to prioritize gender-responsive budgets.

• The majority of assessed African NDCs show low levels of gender inclusion, with 48% ranking as 'low' (meeting two or fewer criteria), 19% ranking as 'moderate', and only 23% ranking as 'high'.
• While 90% of the NDCs mention gender or gender-related terms, only 32% performed a gender analysis to inform their plans, and 42% included gender objectives.
• Gender-responsive budgeting is significantly lacking in African NDCs, with only 23% of the 31 countries assessed including it in their mitigation and adaptation actions.
• There is a disconnect between the volume of climate finance mobilized and gender intentionality; high-recipient countries such as Morocco, South Africa, and Egypt did not prioritize gender-responsive budgeting.
• Climate finance allocation is skewed toward sectors with lower female participation; 74% of private climate finance is concentrated in the energy sector, while the agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sector received only 7%.
• The analysis found low rates of institutional gender integration, with only 29% of NDCs identifying gender stakeholders for implementation or monitoring, and only 23% including sex or gender disaggregated data and indicators.

APA

Munjal, K., Ampulire, J., Kamau, J., & Khan, A. B. (2023). A rapid analysis of the gender intentionality of Africa's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). FSD Africa. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/NDC-Gender-paper-30.11.23.pdf

Chicago

Munjal, Kevin, Janine Ampulire, Joan Kamau, and Arjmand Banu Khan. A rapid analysis of the gender intentionality of Africa's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). FSD Africa, 2023. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/NDC-Gender-paper-30.11.23.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Munjal |first1=Kevin |last2=Ampulire |first2=Janine |last3=Kamau |first3=Joan |last4=Khan |first4=Arjmand Banu |title=A rapid analysis of the gender intentionality of Africa's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) |publisher=FSD Africa |date=November 2023 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/NDC-Gender-paper-30.11.23.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{munjal2023rapid, author = {Munjal, Kevin and Ampulire, Janine and Kamau, Joan and Khan, Arjmand Banu}, title = {{A rapid analysis of the gender intentionality of Africa's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/NDC-Gender-paper-30.11.23.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }