Toronto, ON, November 10, 2026 — Girls living through drought report sharp increases in violence, child marriage and unintended pregnancy in their communities, according to Plan International research presented at the UN climate summit, COP31, in Antalya, Türkiye.

Plan International’s State of the World’s Girls 2026 report, ‘Change Her Forecast’ surveyed 5,000 girls and young women aged 15 to 24 in Bangladesh, Kenya, Peru, Senegal and Zimbabwe, and held in-depth conversations with 139 girls and young women in the same countries.

Where drought was the main climate event, 48% of girls had seen more girls and young women experiencing gender-based violence, compared with 25% of those who faced other climate events.

Among girls severely affected by drought, 54% had noticed more unintended pregnancy in their communities, compared with 29% of those who faced other climate events, and 60% had seen more girls marrying before 18.

Drought cuts deepest into family survival, with girls in drought-hit areas more than twice as likely to report losing access to food (75% compared with 34%) and losing income (53% compared with 24%).

The research shows the gravest risks to girls build up slowly, over months and years of climate pressure and poverty.

Girls expect worse to come, with 81.5% worried that future climate events will worsen sexual and reproductive health concerns such as unintended pregnancy, gender-based violence and access to pregnancy and delivery care. That rises to 94.8% in Zimbabwe and 90.6% in Peru.

The World Meteorological Organization forecasts that El Niño, a natural warming of the Pacific Ocean that shifts weather patterns around the world, could become one of the strongest since at least 1950. It expects the event to peak in December, raising the risk of drought and flooding across many regions.

“Drought works slowly, and so does the damage it does to girls,” said Stu Solomon, Global Lead, Climate Hub at Plan International. “Month after month, as crops fail and savings run out, families make choices nobody should have to make, and girls pay with their schooling and their safety. Governments at COP31 can break that pattern by acting long before the next harvest fails.”

In the report, girls described emergency responses that failed to meet their needs, from early warnings passed on by mosque loudspeakers that fell silent when the power went out, to shelters without period products or the iron and calcium supplements needed during pregnancy.

“As a girl, I ask leaders to remember that our experiences are also evidence. Every time a climate disaster knocks on our door, it steals our rights and dreams. Fund solutions that can give us a future where we can thrive in justice and peace,” said Luísa, a 22-year-old youth climate advocate from Brazil attending COP31.

Funding lags far behind, with just 6% of adaptation funding and 0.5% of multilateral climate funding supporting health, while international aid fell by 23% in 2025, the largest annual drop on record.

Girls also know what would help, with 98% naming at least one solution to improve girls’ and young women’s sexual health after climate events.

Asked separately how girls should be included in decisions, the most common answer, chosen by 39%, was for leaders to listen to girls’ ideas.

Analysis of three decades of data from over 50 countries found girls’ education to be the single most stable protection against child marriage and gender-based violence.

“Girls are telling us what happens when floods close their schools and drought wipes out family incomes,” said Solomon. “COP31 must turn climate commitments into action girls can feel in their daily lives, and that action has to arrive before the next drought does.”

As COP31 moves from commitments to delivery, Plan International is calling on governments, donors and humanitarian organizations to:

• Get climate finance to the services girls depend on, including sexual and reproductive health, and to local and girl-led organizations, mainly through grants that add nothing to countries’ debt.
• Strengthen early warning and action before disasters escalate, so warnings reach girls and trigger support before a crisis hits.
• Put social protection and cash transfers in place before drought pushes families to take girls out of school or marry off daughters.
• Keep schools open and free through climate shocks, and track and re-enrol girls who drop out.
• Give girls and young women real influence over climate plans and how climate funds are spent.

NOTES TO EDITORS

• Plan International, through Plan International Australia, is set to be accredited by the Green Climate Fund, the world’s largest dedicated climate fund, creating a new pathway to channel climate financing toward communities on the front lines of the climate crisis.
• Change Her Forecast — Plan International’s 2026 research on how the climate crisis affects girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights, safety and futures. https://plan-international.org/publications/change-her-forecast
• Plan International COP31 Brief: From Commitments to Implementation — Delivering Climate Action for Adolescent Girls’ Rights

https://plan-international.org/publications/cop31-policy-brief/

About Plan International Canada

Plan International Canada is a member of a global organization dedicated to advancing children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International has been building powerful partnerships with and for children for almost 90 years and is now active in more than 80 countries.

We stand with girls wherever they are oppressed, exploited, left behind, or not equally valued.

We are determined optimists and will continue to persevere until we are all equal.

Visit plancanada.ca for more information.

Media contact

Plan International Canada
PR & Communications
PRteam@plancanada.ca