Women’s rights organisations in Siaya have challenged the local county government to develop and implement gender sensitive climate actions that will enhance women’s participation from the village level.
The organisations further called on the county government to set aside two per cent of its development budget to support climate change adaptation initiatives in the county.
Through the Siaya Muungano Network, they said there was need for the devolved unit to mobilise and support women to participate not only in decision-making processes, but also in local solutions.
Addressing the media after a meeting dubbed “Siaya COP 27”, a replica of the ongoing global event at Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt that has brought together world leaders to deliberate on climate issues, the rights organisations led by Millicent Nyanja said focus on gender sensitive climate action plans will help build the resilience of local women to climate change.
“We are calling on the Siaya County government under the leadership of Governor James Orengo to fast track the implementation of the Siaya county climate change act and climate change funds to ensure they benefit all, including women at the grassroots level,” they said in a statement read by Nyanja.
On their part, the women leaders committed to strengthen grassroots dissemination of climate action information to the community as well as promote local solutions.
Addressing the occasion, Rosemary Atieno from the Community Mobilisation for Positive Development said women rights organisations under the Voices for Just Climate Action have been training Siaya women on climate smart agriculture and how they can use limited space to produce vegetables using water efficient techniques.
“Water is an issue with climate change hence the need for such practices that save the commodity,” she said.
Her remarks were supported by Mary Abang’ from West Gem who said that women were the biggest casualties of climate change hence the need for deliberate efforts to include them in several programmes such as tree planting.
By Philip Onyango
