Inclusive climate adaptation through intersectional co-production: gender- and disability-disaggregated evidence from southern Africa

Inclusive climate adaptation is widely promoted but remains under-evidenced in practice. This article examines an intersectional co-production process in urban and peri-urban southern Africa aimed at improving weather and climate information services, with particular attention to women and persons with disabilities. The study combines surveys, focus groups and interviews in Kanyama, Zambia, and Boane, Mozambique. The process included inclusive engagement and tailored communication materials to improve the usability of weather information. As a result of this process, community observers reported enhanced confidence, empowerment and perceived social status. Although the process led to outcomes of improved trust in, access to, attention to, and action on weather information across all groups, the gains were uneven. Women faced greater barriers to acting on information, while accessibility remained the main barrier for persons with disabilities. The article shows that intersectional co-production can advance representational and procedural justice and improve distributional outcomes. However, inclusion in process alone is insufficient to overcome structural inequality. It argues for climate services design and evaluation through an explicitly intersectional lens, with greater attention to disability inclusion, differentiated barriers, and justice-oriented measures of success embedded from the outset.