Beyond Droughts and Floods: The Human Rights Cost of Climate Change

LILONGWE, Malawi—Climate change is often discussed through statistics — rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, droughts, floods and increasingly frequent extreme weather events. But behind those statistics are people whose ability to enjoy basic human rights is increasingly being affected, writes Emmanuel Harawa.

The United Nations defines climate change as long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, with human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, identified as the main driver of the changes observed since the 1800s.

Human rights, meanwhile, are the basic rights and freedoms to which every person is entitled. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has recognised that climate change threatens the enjoyment of fundamental rights, including the rights to life, food, water, health, housing and development.

At first glance, climate change and human rights may appear to belong to separate conversations.

They do not.

When a farmer watches a maize crop wither after prolonged dry spells, climate change becomes a question of whether a family will have enough food. When floodwaters destroy a home, it becomes a question of shelter, security and dignity. When a cyclone cuts off access to a health facility, it becomes a question of whether people can access essential healthcare.

“Climate change is therefore increasingly affecting people’s ability to enjoy their fundamental human rights.”

The connection becomes even more serious when climate shocks interact with poverty, displacement, inadequate infrastructure and limited access to essential services.

A 2026 study by Shahar Livne and colleagues examining Malawi’s 2022–2024 cholera outbreak found that climate-related disasters, health-system challenges and social conditions combined to contribute to a prolonged epidemic.

The researchers observed that:

“Climate change, therefore, does not necessarily create every vulnerability but rather it exposes, intensifies and deepens vulnerabilities that already exist.”

This distinction is important.

Climate change does not necessarily create every social or economic problem facing communities. Instead, it can magnify existing weaknesses, making people who are already vulnerable even more exposed to harm.

This is particularly significant in Malawi, where agriculture remains central to food security and livelihoods.

The World Bank has reported that climatic shocks have worsened food insecurity, with staple grain production falling below national requirements since the 2022-23 farming season.

Current maize production is estimated at about 2.9 million metric tonnes, compared with a national requirement of approximately 3.3 million to 3.5 million metric tonnes.

Behind those figures are households making difficult decisions about how to survive.

A household that loses its harvest may have to reduce the number of meals it eats each day. Parents may struggle to pay school fees or meet other education-related costs. Families may sell livestock or other productive assets to buy food. Some may borrow money, increasing their vulnerability to future shocks.

The loss of a harvest is therefore more than an agricultural problem.

It can affect the right to food, the right to an adequate standard of living and the ability of families to maintain their livelihoods.

The same principle applies to flooding.

When floodwaters destroy a house, the immediate concern may be finding somewhere safe to sleep. But the consequences can extend much further.

Families can lose household possessions, food stocks, livestock, farmland and other productive assets. Children can be forced out of school when classrooms are damaged or families are displaced. Roads and bridges can be destroyed, making it difficult for people to reach markets, schools and health facilities.

For people already living in poverty, rebuilding can take years.

Repeated disasters can make recovery even more difficult because households may not have enough resources to fully recover before the next shock occurs.

This creates a cycle in which climate-related disasters deepen poverty, while poverty in turn increases people’s vulnerability to future climate shocks.

Climate change also has implications for the right to health.

Extreme weather events can damage health facilities and disrupt access to medical services. Flooding can contaminate water sources and create conditions favourable to the spread of waterborne diseases.

The experience of Malawi’s cholera outbreaks demonstrates how environmental, health and social vulnerabilities can interact.

The Livne study’s findings are significant because they demonstrate that climate-related disasters should not be viewed in isolation from public health.

A flood may damage a water system. A damaged water system may increase exposure to contaminated water. Poor sanitation and limited health-system capacity may then make it harder to contain disease.

The resulting health crisis can disproportionately affect people who already have limited access to healthcare, clean water and sanitation.

The human-rights implications of climate change also make it a development issue.

Malawi 2063 envisions the country becoming a wealthy, self-reliant and industrialised upper-middle-income nation. Environmental sustainability and resilience to climate-related disasters are important to achieving that vision.

At continental level, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 also places environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient economies and communities at the centre of Africa’s development aspirations.

The Sustainable Development Goals reinforce the same principle.

Poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, access to water and climate action cannot be treated as isolated challenges. Progress in one area is closely connected to progress in others.

For example, a drought can increase hunger and poverty. Increased poverty can make it harder for children to remain in school. Poor nutrition can increase vulnerability to disease. Meanwhile, inadequate infrastructure can make communities less capable of recovering from the next disaster.

Climate change can therefore undermine progress across several development goals simultaneously.

Malawi’s United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2024 to 2028 similarly recognises the importance of climate adaptation, sustainable growth, human development, governance, resilience and human rights.

This means investments in climate resilience should not be viewed simply as environmental projects.

Climate-resilient agriculture can help protect food security and livelihoods.

Reliable water systems can help protect public health.

Stronger health facilities can maintain essential services during disasters.

Resilient schools can help protect children’s right to education.

Early-warning systems can give communities time to evacuate before dangerous weather events.

Social protection can help vulnerable households recover after climate shocks.

These are investments in human dignity as much as they are investments in development.

Climate justice also requires communities to participate meaningfully in decisions that affect their lives.

People affected by climate projects, relocation programmes, land-use decisions or adaptation initiatives should not simply be treated as beneficiaries.

They should have a voice in determining what happens to their land, livelihoods and communities.

This is particularly important when climate-related displacement becomes unavoidable.

Relocation may provide physical safety, but it can also disrupt livelihoods, cultural ties, access to services and community networks if it is poorly planned.

Climate adaptation must therefore consider not only where people will live, but how they will earn a living, access schools and health services, maintain social connections and preserve their dignity.

The language used to describe climate-affected communities also matters.

A farmer who loses a harvest is not simply a victim of drought. His or her right to food and livelihood is at risk.

A child who cannot attend school because flooding has destroyed a classroom is not merely a disaster statistic. A fundamental right has been disrupted.

A family forced from its home by a cyclone is not simply displaced. It is struggling to rebuild its security, livelihood and dignity.

This perspective changes how climate responses should be designed.

Communities should not only receive emergency assistance after disasters. They should be supported to build resilience before disasters occur.

That requires investment in climate-smart agriculture, water infrastructure, disaster preparedness, early-warning systems, resilient public facilities and social protection.

It also requires stronger coordination between government institutions, civil society organisations, human-rights organisations, development partners and communities themselves.

The climate crisis is often presented as a problem of the environment.

But its consequences are ultimately measured in human lives.

It determines whether farmers can produce food, whether families can remain in their homes, whether children can stay in school and whether patients can reach health facilities.

Climate change is changing the environment, but its deepest consequences are being felt in people’s lives.

If Malawi is serious about achieving the ambitions of Malawi 2063, the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, climate action must place people and their rights at its centre.

The response to climate change should therefore go beyond rebuilding after floods, distributing food during droughts or responding to disease outbreaks.

It must address the vulnerabilities that allow climate shocks to become humanitarian and development crises in the first place.

Ultimately, climate justice is about recognising that the people who suffer the consequences of climate change are not merely recipients of assistance.

They are rights holders — and protecting those rights must be at the heart of Malawi’s climate response.