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<p>This paper investigates the effect of climate change on women’s health in Africa and examines whether the knowledge economy moderates this relationship. Using panel data covering 43 African countries over the period 1990–2022, we employ fixed-effects models, Driscoll-Kraay estimators, and system GMM to ensure robust inference. The results show that air pollution, measured by CO₂ emissions and total greenhouse gas emissions, has a positive and statistically significant impact on both the prevalence of female obesity and the maternal mortality ratio. However, when we interact CO₂ emissions with a composite Knowledge Economy Index (KEI) capturing female education, Internet access, and scientific output the harmful effect is significantly reduced. The interaction term is negative and significant for both health outcomes: a one-standard-deviation increase in the KEI lowers the marginal impact of CO₂ on obesity by about 15% and on maternal mortality by about 8%. These findings are robust to alternative specifications and regional disaggregation. From a policy perspective, they imply that strengthening the knowledge economy notably through girls’ education, digital inclusion, and research capacity is not only a developmental goal but also an effective climate-adaptation strategy for protecting women’s health. We recommend that African governments integrate knowledge-based interventions into their environmental and health policies.</p>

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The Effects of Climatic Change On Women's Health Vulnerability in Africa: the Moderating Role of the Knowledge Economy

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月17日

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  • Loudi Njoya,
  • Thierry Messie Pondie,
  • Philémon Votsoma

摘要

This paper investigates the effect of climate change on women’s health in Africa and examines whether the knowledge economy moderates this relationship. Using panel data covering 43 African countries over the period 1990–2022, we employ fixed-effects models, Driscoll-Kraay estimators, and system GMM to ensure robust inference. The results show that air pollution, measured by CO₂ emissions and total greenhouse gas emissions, has a positive and statistically significant impact on both the prevalence of female obesity and the maternal mortality ratio. However, when we interact CO₂ emissions with a composite Knowledge Economy Index (KEI) capturing female education, Internet access, and scientific output the harmful effect is significantly reduced. The interaction term is negative and significant for both health outcomes: a one-standard-deviation increase in the KEI lowers the marginal impact of CO₂ on obesity by about 15% and on maternal mortality by about 8%. These findings are robust to alternative specifications and regional disaggregation. From a policy perspective, they imply that strengthening the knowledge economy notably through girls’ education, digital inclusion, and research capacity is not only a developmental goal but also an effective climate-adaptation strategy for protecting women’s health. We recommend that African governments integrate knowledge-based interventions into their environmental and health policies.