Advocates Call for Gender-Sensitive Policies to Include Men
Anne Tek
In a recent dialogue hosted by Green Faith Africa and Artspace, Anna Tek from FEMNET emphasized the importance of gender-sensitive policies in addressing climate change.
While acknowledging that climate change impacts both men and women, Tek urged policymakers not to leave men out of the conversation.
“Even as it is evident that climate change impacts both men and women, when designing our policies, it is imperative to make them gender-sensitive so that we do not exclude men, ensuring everyone is considered,” she emphasized.
The 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai marked a significant milestone for advancing women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health in the face of the climate crisis.
Pregnant women, lactating mothers, newborns, children, and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change.
Despite contributing the least to greenhouse gas emissions, these groups are set to endure the harshest consequences throughout their lives, highlighting an unjust reality.
The Health Day at COP28 was a pivotal moment, with over 50 health ministers and endorsements from 140+ countries on the Declaration on Climate and Health. The success of climate action, according to COP28, should be measured in lives saved rather than just temperature metrics.
However, despite its greater impact on the lives of women and children, climate change also affects men.
The lack of health infrastructure can mean they can’t access adequate medical treatment or reproductive health options
Additionally, as agricultural activities such as farming and fishing become more difficult due to climate change in some places, men may have to move away from home and into cities to find work.
Aliyu Umar Sadiq, a climate advocate who also spoke at the dialogue, expressed concerns about the amount of funds allocated, which they deemed insufficient to address the climate issues in Africa.
“Of the 400 billion required, we were only allocated 700 million, and it is very concerning,” he said.
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