Involve women in mitigating climate change – Mrs Opare

Mrs Joana Adjoa Opare, Executive Director of Gender Planning Consults Limited, on Thursday called on Government to involve women in planning and implementation of strategies to mitigate problems associated with climate change.

“No development intervention can be effective if a segment of the population is not fully engaged in its design and implementation,” she said.

Mrs Opare made the call at a workshop on Gender and Climate Change, organised by the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) to sensitise and educate women to understand and appreciate climate change and how it affected issues relating to women and children.

CCG has initiated a project titled “Participation of Christian and Muslim Women in the Climate Change Dialogue” to enhance the capacity of Christian and Muslim women leaders to identify and tackle the issues of climate change and its effect on the family and the public.

Under the project, 25 women would be selected from CCG member churches, 15 Muslim women and 10 women leaders from Pentecostal and Charismatic Council to undertake a nationwide action programme to reach out about 3,000 women on issues of climate change and gender.

Mrs Opare said efforts must be made to bring on board the valuable contributions of women towards sustainable peace and development at all levels.

She noted that research had shown that women had the power to mobilise resources against climate change and were active agents with different capacities to respond to the challenges posed by climate change.

“Women manage households and care for family members which often limit their mobility and increase their vulnerability to the sudden weather related natural disasters,” she added.

Mrs Opare explained that international climate change agreements and national policies were likely to succeed if gender relations, well-being of women and access to services and opportunities were taken into account.

She noted that addressing the threats of climate change were a current global priority, adding “Unless it is effectively dealt with, climate change would have a dramatic impact on the environment and on economic and social development”.

Mrs Opare called on Government to use a human rights approach to ensure democratic and participatory initiatives that promoted gender equality.

Source: GNA