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By Annonciata Byukusenge
Integration of voluntary family planning and reproductive health programmes in grassroots climate actions could see African governments wisely fund multiple programmes even in the context of reducing financial resources, participants at a side event-taking place at the ongoing Women Deliver conference 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda said.
At side event to look into cross sectoral gender transformative solutions for advancing multiple development outcomes by the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), FP2030 and Margaret Pyke Trust, participants noted that grassroots women across the world are taking actions to mitigate the negative effects of climate change, but “their efforts are not getting the needed support. We agree that governments and civil society do not have enough resources to do all that need done,” they noted.
“However, governments need to collaborate with civil society in order to empower vulnerable people facing the impacts of climate change, especially women,” said Faith Bacon from Path Foundation Philippines said.
She added that grassroot women have many responsibilities including ensuring food for their families, but are inadequately prepared in the context of climate change. “Women need to know how they can adapt, mitigate so as to be resilient to the effects of climate change,” she said.
She said that her organisation has already started engaging with all actors, especially those in the climate change space to begin thinking of how they could integrate reproductive health and voluntary family planning in their programming.
“Governments need to begin seeing that rapid population growth will negatively impact long term climate actions, most of which take place within communities. When you talk about communities, then women become important,” she said.
Cilve Mutunga, Director of the USAID-funded BUILD Project, said it is possible to use different resource streams to fund women activities that enhances their resilience to climate change. Contributing to a session he was moderating, Mutunga said climate change and rapid population growth might lead to decline in agricultural productivity. Integrating voluntary family planning and reproductive health will improve health, environment and climate change outcomes.
Women Deliver 2023 is under the theme: Spaces, Solidarity, and Solutions, the multi-sectoral conference will see feminists and other rights activists, together with different stakeholders in the quest for gender equality convene to find solutions to different challenges.
Women Deliver was founded in 2007 when it first held its groundbreaking meeting with almost 2,000 stakeholders in reproductive health. For the past six years, similar conferences have happened in London, Washington DC, Kuala Lumpur, Denmark, and Vancouver. The sixth meeting is happening in Kigali, Rwanda, and is the first to happen in Africa.
The 2023 conference has attracted 6,000 people in-person, and more than 200,000 online. This makes Women Deliver Conference the largest meeting on gender equality in the world.
Among Women Deliver’s goals is to empower the feminist movement, catalyse collective action to advance gender equality, hold leaders accountable, and create space, among others.
Some opening ceremony photos
