Climate Change, Vulnerability, Food Security and Human Health in Rural Pakistan: A Gender Perspective

The study primarily focused on mapping farm households’ vulnerability index and to identify gender differentiated determinants of vulnerability, food security, and health vulnerability. PCA has been applied to generate vulnerability indices by combining different socioeconomic and climatic factors. The study uses data of Climate Change Impact Survey [CCIS (2013)]. The results indicate that high vulnerability to climate change prevails in the study area. Further, the results obtained from descriptive, and ordered Logit, and binary Logit/Probit regression models are suggestive that those households where females are empowered through decision making, entitlement to inheritance, are more educated, and can participate in social gatherings and are allowed to visit hospital are found less vulnerable as compared to male dominant families. Moreover, female empowerment makes farm households more food secure, and lesser vulnerable in terms of health vulnerability. The study also observes the gender specific perceptions to climate change, and findings reveal that male and female decision makers are found perceiving climate change and having some significant differences regarding perceptions