Addis Ababa, 4 March 2022 (ECA) - African governments must consider the disproportionate effects of climate change suffered by women on the continent and respond with policies and strategies that are resilient, green and inclusive.
The conclusion was made during the meeting on gender equality at the African Regional Forum for Sustainable Development (ARFSD) in Kigali, Rwanda. The meeting was an opportunity to deliberate on the progress and challenges in implementing gender equality and women’s empowerment commitments.
Melinda Chiponda, climate justice and gender expert, while addressing barriers to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, pointed out that “the intensity and the frequency of climate-induced disasters are becoming more and more”.
She added that “Africa’s development is being pushed to the periphery because of climate-induced disaster. There is also COVID. We are also aware that governments have adopted austerity measures. Women in Africa now have to subsidize through their unpaid care work, social services that were supposed to be funded by the government.”
Denise Brown, Deputy Special Representative of the UN in the Central African Republic, also argued that climate-induced desertification in the Central Africa region leads to clashes between farmers and herders who have to move their cattle across the border and for hundreds of miles to find foliage.
“We know that there is sexual violence prevalent now on those corridors, and it is something we are working on. That is something we need to keep our eyes on in the Central African Republic and the neighboring countries,” she explained.
The panellists spoke about the need for gender-based evidence to influence how Africa’s climate finances are invested. Speaking for gender-based considerations in climate financing, youth and gender activist Abdiah Lalalikipian regretted that “the conversation on climate change has not been localized. It is always poised as a technical subject. But a young person at the rural community level is not able to articulate the problem.”
Other speakers at the meeting included Marguerite Ramadan, Minister of Gender Affairs and the protection of Women, Families and Children in the Central African Republic.
This ARFSD is an annual multi-stakeholder platform organized by the ECA and the host government, this year, Rwanda, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and other entities of the United Nations Systems. This year’s main event will be held from March 3 to March 5, 2022 on the theme ‘Building forward better: A green, inclusive and resilient Africa poised to achieve the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063.’
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