Women Ignored in Government Climate Plans, Despite Being Most Impacted
Manila, Philippines – As governments meet in Manila this week for the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, ActionAid has released a new report that reveals that women continue to be overlooked in Asia Pacific government climate change plans and excluded from response to climate disasters.
More than a third of Asian and Pacific governments’ plans that are submitted to the UNCCC on how they will tackle and adapt to climate change – Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – are gender blind, and less than half include a commitment to enhancing women’s participation in climate change action.
The Asia Pacific region is one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world, and women are bearing the brunt of increasingly extreme climate events. Women and their children are 14 times more likely to die in a disaster, and four times more likely to be displaced. The impacts are even worse for women with disabilities and those facing intersecting inequalities.
Hoang Phuong Thao, Country Director of ActionAid Vietnam says: “To be effective, community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) plans require a lot of regular drills and practices. ActionAid Vietnam is currently supporting the survivors of recent massive Yagi Cyclone in four provinces of Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Quang Ninh and Hanoi. Field response clearly shows that when CBDRM Plans are well-funded, regularly practiced with women active participation and leadership, the damages and trauma that disasters created would be much more controlled and reduced, in a proactive way.”
Flora Vano, Country Director of ActionAid Vanuatu says: “In Vanuatu, we’re showing how women’s leadership can not only benefit women but also the whole community. Nine thousand women are now part of our network including women with disabilities, who now know exactly what do to when a disaster strikes, especially to reach the most vulnerable people in the community. Women are gaining respect from local chiefs and the government is working with us to alert communities to disasters, but there is much more that needs to be done to realise the potential of Pacific women in reducing disaster risk.”
Michelle Higelin, Executive Director of ActionAid Australia says: “It’s not surprising that women’s rights are going backwards worldwide when women continued to be shut out of climate policy and decision making. Its alarming that Australia’s NDC is gender-blind despite evidence showing that women are disproportionately impacted by climate disasters. We know that gender-responsive solutions drive more inclusive and effective responses. Australia should ensure its new climate plan includes a strong commitment and resourcing to support women’s leadership in driving climate solutions.”
The new report – Transforming Disaster Response: Women-led Climate Solutions in Asia and the Pacific– explores the benefits of women-led and gender-responsive approaches to disaster risk reduction and response in the context of escalating climate disasters across Asia and the Pacific.
In the past six months, flash flooding has engulfed Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu, Typhoon Yagi has wreaked havoc across the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, and more than half a million people were displaced by the worst flood to hit Bangladesh in decades.
[ ENDS ]
For further information or to arrange an interview please contact:
Juliah Kobochi – Media Lead, ActionAid International: [email protected]
Steph Wulf – Senior Communications Manager, ActionAid Australia: [email protected]
About ActionAid
ActionAid is a global federation working to advance women’s rights and end poverty and injustice. It reaches more than 41 million people living in more than 70 of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries. We want to see a just, equitable and sustainable world, in which everybody enjoys the right to a life of dignity, and freedom from poverty and oppression.