An Ethiopian farmer who's crops were decimated in the 2008 food crisis. © CARE/Amber MeikleCARE’s Adaptation Learning Programme for Africa

Nowhere on the planet are people more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change than in sub-Saharan Africa. The continent is already prone to erratic rainfall, droughts, floods and cyclones, and climate change will only exacerbate these ongoing challenges. Climate change is already having significant impacts on food and income security, and that these impacts are particularly serious for women and other marginalized groups.

In response, CARE launched the Adaptation Learning Programme (ALP) for Africa in early 2010. The programme is supported by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DfID), The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland. Its overarching goal is to increase the capacity of vulnerable households in Sub-Saharan Africa to adapt to climate variability and change.

Towards this end, the ALP will:

• Develop and apply innovative approaches to Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) to generate best practice models;
• Empower local communities and civil society organisations to have a voice in decision-making on adaptation;
• Promote best practice models for CBA among adaptation practitioners; and
• Influence national, regional and international adaptation policies and plans.

Working in partnership with local civil society and government institutions, the ALP will be implemented in 40 communities across Ghana, Niger, Mozambique and Kenya. Learning from the programme will be shared with policymakers and adaptation practitioners across Africa and globally. Gender equality and diversity constitute a particular focus for the ALP.

Activities will be targeted to ensure that benefits reach people in the most vulnerable socio-economic groups, which will be identified through participatory analysis. The programme will promote the rights and responsibilities of men, women and others in adaptation activities. It will empower people in the most vulnerable socio-economic groups to take concrete action and to raise their voices in local, national and international planning and policy-making processes on adaptation.

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